UC-NRLF 


The  Sources 


The  British  Chronicle  History 


Spenser's  Faerie  Queene 


A  DISSERTATION 


PRESENTED  TO  THE  FACULTY  OF  BRYN  MAWP,  COLLEGE 

FOR  THE  DEGREE  OF  DOCTOR  OF 

PHILOSOPHY 


BY 

CARRIE  ANNA  HARPER 
1910 


!??  31  uh it  (£.  Ittimitmt  (£u. 

1006-1016  AKCH  STHKKT 
PHILADKLPHIA 


The  Sources 


OF 


The  British  Chronicle  History 


Spenser's  Faerie  Queene 


A   DISSERTATION 

PRESENTED  TO  THE  FACULTY  OF  BRYN  MAWPv  COLLEGE 
THE  DEGREE  OF  DOCTOR  OF 
PHILOSOPHY 


BY 

CARRIE  ANNA  HARPER 
1910 


or  THE 
UNIVERSITY 


lir  Jiitjtt  (E.  lUiuiitnu  U!  u. 

1006-1016  ARCH  STREET 
PHILADELPHIA 


PREFACE 

The  following  study,  practically  as  it  stands,  was  pre- 
sented as  a  dissertation  to  the  Faculty  of  Bryn  Mawr  Col- 
lege in  1908  in  partial  fulfilment  of  the  requirements  for 
the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Philosophy.  The  subject  was  sug- 
gested by  Professor  J.  Douglas  Bruce,  formerly  at  Bryn 
Mawr  College  and  now  at  the  University  of  Tennessee,  and 
the  work  was  begun  under  his  direction.  It  was  continued 
at  intervals  during  several  years,  whenever  opportunity  of- 
fered. The  results  were  submitted  to  Professor  Carleton 
F.  Brown  and  Dr.  Percy  W.  Long,  to  whose  criticism  and 
suggestion  the  present  form  is  due.  Professor  Brown  has 
continued  to  assist  me  in  all  the  various  stages  of  the  work, 
and  I  cannot  state  too  strongly  my  sense  of  obligation  to 
him.  Professor  Bruce  has  also  read  the  manuscript  and 
has  made  valuable  suggestions,  of  which  I  have  availed  my- 
self in  revision.  To  him  and  to  Dr.  Long,  as  well  as  to 
Professor  Brown,  I  wish  to  express  my  gratitude.  At  the 
same  time  I  wish  to  thank  the  Librarian  of  the  Harvard 
College  Library  and  especially  Mr.  T.  J.  Kiernan,  Super- 
intendent of  the  Department  of  Circulation,  who  have  ex- 
tended to  me  for  many  years  the  privileges  of  that  library, 
without  which  this  investigation  could  not  have  been  car- 
ried on.  I  wish  also  to  thank  Mr.  J.  P.  Morgan  for  his 
great  courtesy  in  allowing  me  to  work  in  his  library  for 
several  days,  and  thus  giving  me  access  to  the  invaluable 
Chronicle  by  Caxton,  which  I  could  not  otherwise  have 
seen. 

C.  A.  H. 

SOUTH  HADLEY,  MASS., 
March  7,  1910. 


209387 


TABLE  OF  EDITIONS  TO  WHICH  REFERENCE 

IS  MADE 

The  text  of  the  Globe  edition  of  Spenser  (Macmillan  & 
>.,  1902)  has  been  used  in  this  dissertation. 
The  following  books  have  been  used  in  the  editions  here 
specified :  — 

Brut  Tysilio,  translated  by  Peter  Roberts,  1811,  under  the 
title,  The  Chronicle  of  the  Kings  of  Britain. 

Camden,  William,  Britannia,  1590. 

Fabyan,  Robert,  The  New  Chronicles  of  England  and 
France,  ed.  Sir  Henry  Ellis,  London,  1811. 

Geoffrey  of  Monmouth,  Historia  Regum  Britanniae,  ed. 
San  Marte,  Halle;  1854. 

Grafton,  Richard,  Chronicle  at  Large  .  .  .  ed.  Sir 
Henry  Ellis,  London,  1809. 

Hardyng,  John,  Chronicle,  ed.  Sir  Henry  Ellis,  London, 
1812. 

Higden,  Ralph,  Poly  chronic  on,  ed.  in  the  Rolls  Series,  vols. 
I  arid  II  by  C.  Babington,  vols.  III-IX  by  J.  R.  Lumby, 
1865-1886. 

Holinshed,  Raphael,  Chronicles,  1577.* 

Lajamon,  Brut,  ed.  Sir  Fred.  Madden,  3  vols.,  London, 
1847- 

Mannyng,  Robert,  of  Brunne,  Chronicle,  ed.  Furnivall,  Rolls 
Series,  2  vols.,  1887. 

"  Matthew  of  Westminster,"  Flores  Historiamm,  ed.  H. 
R.  Luard,  Rolls  Series,  London,  1890. 

Mirror  for  Magistrates,  ed.  Joseph  Haslewood,  3  vols., 
London, 1815. 

Paris,  Matthew,  Chronica  Majora,  ed.  H.  R.  Luard,  Rolls 
Series,  London,  1872. 

Polydore  Vergil,  Anglicae  Historiae  Libri  XXVI,  English 

1  When  the  edition  of  1587  has  been  used  it  is  specified  in  the  foot- 
note. 


TABLE   OF   EDITIONS 

translation,  ed.  from  MS.  of  the  time  of  Henry  VII,  by  Sir 
Henry  Ellis,  Camden  Society,  London,  1846. 

Rastell,  John,  The  Pastime  of  People,  ed.  Dibden,  London, 
1811. 

"  Robert  of  Gloucester,"  Chronicle,  ed.  W.  A.  Wright,  Rolls 
Series,  2  vols.,  1887. 

Stow,  John,  Annales  .  .  .  Augmented  by  Edmund 
Howes,  London,  1631. 

Warner,  William,  Albions  England,  London,  1612. 


CONTENTS 

PAGE 

PREFACE in 

TABLE  OF  EDITIONS  USED v 

CHAPTER 

I    INTRODUCTION I 

II    SPENSER'S  METHOD  OF  WORK 10 

III    THE  PROBABLE  SOURCES  OF  SPENSER'S  BRITISH  CHRONICLE  HIS- 
TORY     24 

[V    THE  METHOD  OF  THE  PRESENT  INVESTIGATION 31 

V    A  COMPARISON  OF  SPENSER'S  CHRONICLE  WITH  ITS  POSSIBLE 

SOURCES 38 

rl    CONCLUSION 172 

APPENDIX 187 

VITA       191 


OF  THE 
UNIVERSITY 

OF 


THE  SOURCES  OF  THE    BRITISH 

CHRONICLE    HISTORY    IN 

SPENSER'S  FAERIE 

^UEENE 


INTRODUCTION 

Spenser  incorporated  in  the  Faerie  Queene  an  almost 
complete  rhymed  chronicle  of  the  British  kings  from  Brutus 
to  Cadwalladerr  This  he  divides  into  two  parts.  The 
first  part,  in  Book  II,  Canto  10,  takes  the  form  of  a  narra- 
tive which  Prince  Arthur  reads  from  an  old  book  called 
"  Briton  Moniments."  With  the  accession  of  Uther  it  ends 
abruptly.  The  second  part,  in  Book  III,  Canto  3,  appears 
as  a  prophecy  which  Merlin  makes  to  Britomart.  He  de- 
scribes the  "  famous  Progenee  "  which  shall  spring  from 
her  marriage  with  Arthegall.  Beginning  with  her  son,  a 
king  who  may  be  identified  with  Conan,  the  second  in  suc- 
cession after  Arthur,  the  prophecy  continues  to  the  last  of 
the  British  kings,  Cadwallader.  The  only  important  omis- 
sions from  the  chronicle  are  the  stories  of  Arthur  and  his 
successor,  Constantine. 

The  two  parts  are  bound  together  by  the  similarity  of 
the  elaborate  invocations  that  precede  them.  As  Queen 
Elizabeth  is  supposed  by  Spenser  to  be  descended  from 
Prince  Arthur  and  that  "  royall  maid  of  yore,"  Britomart, 
the  ancestors  of  Arthur  and  the  descendants  of  Britomart 
are  both  in  the  Queen's  ancestral  line,  and  to  chronicle  their 

I 


2  SPENSER'S  BRITISH  CHRONICLE  HISTORY 

history  was  a  tribute  to  the  Queen.     Spenser  accordingly 
begins  the  first  part  of  his  chronicle  with  the  lines :  — 1 

"  Who  now  shall  give  unto  me  words  and  sound 
Equall  unto  this  haughty  enterprise? 

******** 

More  ample  spirit  than  hitherto  was  wount 

Here  needes  me,  whiles  the  famous  auncestryes 

Of  my  most  dreaded  Soveraigne  I  recount, 

By  which  all   earthly   Princes  she  doth   far   surmount." 

It  is  "  a  labor  huge,"  far  exceeding  the  might  of  his  "  fraile 
pen."     Yet  with  the  help  of  the  Muses,  he  says,  he 

"  would  assay 
Thy  name,  O  soveraine  Queene !  to  blazon  far  away." 

In  like  fashion  he  introduces  the  canto  that  -contains*  the 
prophecy  of  Merlin.2 

"  Begin  then,  O  my  dearest  sacred  Dame ! 

******** 

Begin,  O  Clio!  and  recount  from  hence 
My  glorious  Soveraines  goodly  auncestrye, 
Till  that  by  dew  degrees,  and  long  protense, 
Thou  have  it  lastly  brought  unto  her  Excellence." 

In  this  way  Spenser  emphasized  the  unity  of  the  two 
parts,  which  otherwise  might  have  been  somewhat  obscured 
by  the  difference  in  form, —  a  difference  forced  upon  Spen- 
ser by  the  plan  of  the  Faerie  Queene,  which  presented 
Arthur  as  the  principal  hero,  and  placed  the  time  of  the 
action  immediately  before  Arthur's  accession  to  the  throne. 
The  reign  of  Arthur  was  therefore  naturally  omitted,  and 
the  history  of  the  kings  who  followed  him  was  inevitably 
given  as  a  prophecy.  Neither  the  omission  nor  the  change 
of  form  affects  the  essential  character  of  the  passages  under 
consideration,  or  appreciably  lessens  their  right  to  the  title 
of  a  chronicle  of  British  kings. 

1  F.  Q,  II,  10,  i. 
*  F.  Q.,  Ill,  3,  4- 


INTRODUCTION  3 

The  material  of  which  the  chronicle  is  composed  was 
first  published  to  the  world  about  1136,  by  Geoffrey  of  Mon- 
mouth,  in  the  Historia  Regum  Britanniae.  The  origin  of 
this  extraordinary  history  has  been  much  disputed.  Al- 
though Geoffrey  himself  asserted  that  he  was  translating 
"  an  ancient  book  in  the  British  tongue,"  3  brought  to  him 
by  Walter,  Archdeacon  of  Oxford,  this  book,  if  it  ever  ex- 
isted, was  then  unknown  to  other  writers,  and  still  remains 
unknown.  The  theory  most  generally  held  at  the  present 
time  is,  that  Geoffrey  gathered  from  many  sources  fables, 
popular  traditions,  and  facts  of  history,  and  then  combined 
them  with  the  utmost  freedom  to  form  a  narrative  essen- 
tially original.4  In  any  case,  for  all  practical  purposes, 
Geoffrey  may  be  accepted  as  the  ultimate  source,  not  of 
every  statement  in  the  history  of  the  British  kings,  but  of 
the  narrative  as  a  whole. 

Geoffrey's  narrative  was  more  or  less  completely  repro- 
duced by  many  later  writers,  but  was  much  modified  in  the 
successive  repetitions.  Almost  from  the  beginning  it  came 
into  conflict  with  authentic  history  recorded  by  both  Roman 
and  Anglo-Saxon  writers.  As  a  result,  omissions,  addi- 
tions, and  changes  were  made  in  the  interest  of  historical 
accuracy.  Finally,  after  a  period  of  distrust,  the  growth 
of  historical  acumen  led  to  the  complete  rejection  of 
Geoffrey's  material.  But  before  this  came  about,  changes 
other  than  those  due  to  a  desire  for  truth  had  resulted  from 
the  usual  careless  mediaeval  attitude  toward  sources  and  the 
inevitable  errors  of  copyists.  Because  of  its  great  and  long- 
continued  popularity,  the  Historia  was  translated  and  re- 
translated into  both  French  and  English,  prose  and  verse. 
It  was  sometimes  epitomized,  sometimes  embellished  and 
expanded.  Each  redaction,  through  accident  or  design,  was 
marked  by  variations  from  the  original.  Then  the  earlier 

3  "  Quendam  Britannici  sennonis  librum  vctustissimum." 

4  See  Robert  Huntingdon  Fletcher,  The  Arthurian  Material  in  the 
Chronicles,  Boston,   1906,  p.   50.     See  also   W.   H.    Schofield,   English 
Literature  from  the  Norman  Conquest  to  Chaucer,  New  York,   1906, 
PP-  38-39- 


4  SPENSER'S  BRITISH  CHRONICLE  HISTORY 

versions  were  compared  and  compounded  in  all  possible 
ways  to  make  the  later  versions.  In  the  time  of  Elizabeth, 
consequently,  the  chronicle  of  the  British  kings,  not  yet 
completely  rejected,  was  known  to  the  reading  public  in 
many  forms  that  agreed  in  general  outline,  but  dif- 
fered widely  from  one  another  in  details,  and  even  in  mat- 
ters of  considerable  importance. 

The  object  of  the  present  dissertation  is  to  determine, 
as  exactly  as  may  be,  which  of  the  possible  sources  Spenser 
used  in  the  preparation  of  his  version  of  the  chronicle,  to 
note  whether  he  followed  one  authority  or  drew  from  sev- 
eral of  his  predecessors,  and,  if  the  latter  prove  to  be  the 
case,  to  consider  his  method  of  selecting  and  arranging  his 
material.  A  close  study  of  this  limited  field  should  result, 
not  only  in  establishing  the  sources  of  his  chronicle,  but 
also  in  increasing  our  knowledge  of  his  habit  of  mind  and 
method  of  work. 

The  investigation  of  this  subject  has  already  been  begun 
by  the  annotators  of  the  Faerie  Queene,  who  have  been 
forced,  in  spite  of  the  low  estimate  that  they  place  on  the 
literary  value  of  Spenser's  chronicle,5  to  expend  much  labor 
in  commenting  upon  it.  Their  contribution  to  the  study  of 
its  sources  has  been  for  the  most  part,  however,  incidental 
rather  than  direct  and  conscious. 

Warton  seems  to  have  been  the  first  critic  to  call  atten- 
tion to  the  chronicle  history  material  in  the  Faerie  Queene. 
In  his  Observations  on  the  Faery  Queen,  1754,  he  groups 
Canto  10  of  Book  II  and  Canto  3  of  Book  III,  as  both  con- 
taining "  historical  genealogies  of  future  kings  and  princes 
of  England." 6  "  This  part  of  our  author,"  he  writes, 
"  is  manifestly  taken  from  the  former  part  of  John  Har- 

5  Kitchin,  in  his  edition  of  Book  II  of  the  Faery  Queene,  Oxford, 
1868,  p.  221,  writes,  with  reference  to  Canto  10,  "This  canto,  by  far 
the  dullest  of  all     .     .     ."  and  Professor  F.  J.  Child,  in  his  edition 
of  Spenser,  Boston,  1855,  vol.  II,  p.  86,  says  of  the  stanzas  on  King 
Lear,  "  The  magic  of  Shakespeare's  genius  has  made  these  the  only 
interesting  stanzas  in  the  whole  canto." 

6  Thomas  Warton,  Observations  on  the  Faery  Queen,  2  vols.,  Lon- 
don, 1820,  vol.  II,  p.  29. 


INTRODUCTION  5 

dyng's  Chronicle."  7  The  story  of  the  giants,  however,  put 
him  in  mind  of  Geoffrey  of  Monmouth.8 

Upton,  the  next  scholar  to  approach  the  chronicle,  was 
the  first  to  make  a  detailed  study  of  it.  In  the  notes  to  his 
edition  of  the  Faerie  Queene  he  assumed  that  Geoffrey  of 
Monmouth  was  Spenser's  source  and  therefore  gave  a  sum- 
mary of  the  Historia.9  He  added  quotations  from  the 
works  of  Tacitus,  Bede,  Gildas,  Hardyng,  Ross,  Holinshed, 
and  Stow,  and  from  the  History  of  Arthur  (Morte  d' Ar- 
thur), the  Mirror  for  Magistrates,  Buchanan's  Rerwm 
Scoticarum  Hist o ma,  Camden's  Britannia,  Carew's  Survey 
of  Cornwall,  Drayton's  Polyolbion,  Milton's  History  of 
England,  Sir  Richard  Blackmore's  Prince  Arthur,  and  Gor- 
don's Itinerarium  septentrionale.10  Upton's  intention,  ap- 
parently, was  to  explain  the  text  of  his  author,  and  to  indi- 
cate that  the  statements  contained  in  it  were  not  due  to 
the  creative  imagination  of  Spenser,  but  were  matters  of 
ordinary  knowledge,  and  in  some  cases  represented  actual 
facts.  Although  he  named  most  of  the  probable  sources  of 
Spenser  and  quoted  many  of  the  most  exact  parallels  in 
Spenser's  predecessors,  he  made  no  effort  to  study  the  rela- 
tion of  one  source  to  another,  or  to  determine  which  Spen- 
ser actually  used,  as  is  sufficiently  proved  by  his  frequent 
quotations  from  later  books,  such  as  Drayton's  Polyolbion 
(first  part,  1612)  and  Milton's  History  (1670). 

Todd,  in  his  edition  of  Spenser,  1805,  contented  him- 
self with  repeating  Upton's  statement  that  Geoffrey  was  the 
chief  source  of  Spenser's  history.  So  far  as  the  chronicle 
material  is  concerned,  he  added  nothing  of  value  to  Upton's 
notes. 

1  Ibid.,  vol.  II,  p.  287. 

8  Ibid.,  vol.  II,  p.   158. 

.  9  The  Faerie  Queene,  ed.  Upton,  1758.  The  first  summary  of  the 
Historia  is  introduced  by  the  statement  that  Spenser's  "account  of 
Brutus  and  his  sacred  progeny  is  taken  chiefly  from  Jeffry  of  Mon- 
mouth" (II,  490).  The  second  summary  begins  with  a  reference  to 
"  the  same  author,  Jeffry  of  Monmouth,  whom  Spenser  in  great  meas- 
ure follows"  (II,  492). 

10  Faerie  Queene,  ed.  Upton,  vol.  II,  pp.  488  ff.  and  pp.  534  ff. 


6  SPENSER'S  BRITISH  CHRONICLE  HISTORY 

Forty  years  later  Craik  also  repeated  Upton's  opinion :  — 
"  This  long  canto  (II,  10)  is,  with  the  exception  of  the  last 
eight  or  nine  stanzas,  merely  a  metrical  chronicle  of  the 
old  British  kings  from  Brutus  to  Uther  Pendragon,  father 
of  Arthur,  taken  almost  exclusively  from  Geoffrey  of  Mon- 
mouth,  not  admitting  abridgment,  and  containing  few  pas- 
sages of  eminent  poetical  beauty."  J1 

The  next  work  of  importance  was  the  edition  of  Spenser 
by  Professor  F.  J.  Child,  whose  brief  notes  represent  the  re- 
sults of  independent  investigation.  With  regard  to  the 
tenth  Canto  of  the  second  Book  of  the  Faerie  Queene  he 
wrote :  — "  Som;e  parts  of  this  Chronicle  appear  to  be  taken 
from  Holinshed,  others  from  Geoffrey  of  Monmouth,  the 
oldest  authority  for  these  fabulous  stories.  There  are  two 
or  three  unimportant  particulars,  not  found  in  either,  which 
I  have  not  succeeded  in  tracing  to  their  original."  12 

The  latest  commentator  on  any  considerable  portion  of 
Spenser's  chronicle  is  Kitchin,  who  took  up  the  work  of 
illustrating  and  explaining  the  first  part  with  a  zeal  like 
Upton's,  and  with  much  the  same  method.  Kitchin  re- 
ferred to  Samnes's  Britannia,  to  Camden's  Britannia,  to 
Geoffrey  of  Monmouth,  Hardyng,  Holinshed,  "  Robert  of 
Gloucester,"  Stow,  Milton,  Caesar,  Bede,  Tacitus,  Dion 
Cassius,  Gildas,  Nennius,  and  William  of  Malmesbury.13 
He  quoted  frequently  and  at  length  from  Hardyng  and 
Holinshed,  and  less  frequently  from  Geoffrey  of  Monmouth. 
Occasionally  he  ascribed  a  single  passage  to  a  definite 
source,14  and  twice  he  committed  himself  to  a  general  state- 
ment about  the  source  of  the  whole.  The  first  time,  he 
wrote  that  "  Spenser  made  large  use  of  Holinshed's  chron- 
icle," often  drew  "  almost  literally  from  Hardyng's  Chron- 

11  Spenser,  ed.  Craik,  London,  1845,  vol.  I,  pp.  234-235. 

12  Spenser,  ed.  Child,  Boston,  1855,  vol.  II,  p.  76. 

13  These   names   are   given   in  the   order   in   which   they   appear   in 
Kitchin's  notes  to  Book  II  of  the  Faery  Queene,  Oxford,  1868. 

14  The  note  on  stanza  26  of  II,  10  is  "  Spenser  follows  Geoffry  of 
Monmouth  "  (p.  225)  ;  on  st.  35  the  same  (p.  226)  ;  on  st.  45,  "  Spenser 
closely  follows  Holinshed  "  (p.  228)  ;  and  on  st.  48,  "  Hardyng  (whom 
Spenser  follows  here)   describes  this  in  c.  44"   (p.  229). 


INTRODUCTION  7 

icle,"  and  perhaps  drew  partly  from  Geoffrey  of  Mon- 
mouth,  "  though  this  is  not  so  clear."  15  The  second  time, 
after  referring  to  the  "  newly  aroused  national  life  and 
feeling  "  in  Elizabeth's  reign,  and  the  attention  then  being 
given  "  in  literary  circles  to  archaeological  questions,"  he 
noted  that  Holinshed's  Chronicles,  Camden's  Britannia.,  and 
Stow's  work  were  then  recent  publications,  and  concluded 
by  saying  that  "  the  influence  of  Holinshed  was  clearly  very 
great  on  Spenser's  mind."  16 

In  a  study  of  Spenser's  sources  the  importance  of  Kitchin's 
work  is  less  than  would  appear  at  first  sight,  because  on 
inspection  the  quotations,  chosen  more  or  less  at  random 
from  a  few  chronicles,  prove  misleading  rather  than  use- 
ful. The  fact  that  a  considerable  body  of  material  was 
common  to  nearly  all  the  chronicles,  was,  it  would  seem, 
overlooked.  The  note  on  Vigent,  for  instance,  speaks  only 
of  Holinshed's  Vigenius  and  Hardyng's  lugen.17  The 
reader  infers  'that  Holinshed  is  Spenser's  source.  But,  as 
Vigenius  appears-  also  in  Geoffrey  of  Monmouth  and  in  a 
large  number  of  other  chronicles,  Holinshed  is  by  no  means 
certainly  the  source.  This  misleading  incompleteness  is 
characteristic  of  the  majority  of  the  notes.  Moreover, 
Kitchin  frequently  introduces  confusion  by  quoting  improb- 
able sources  like  William  of  Malmesbury  and  "  Robert  of 
Gloucester,"  whose  chronicles  existed  in  Spenser's  time  only 
in  manuscript,  and  impossible  sources,  like  Milton  and 
Samnes.  And  a  third  difficulty  is  introduced  when  Kitchin 
undertakes  to  disentangle  the  fiction  of  the  chronicles  from 
the  facts  of  history.  In  all  these  respects  Kitchin's  work  is 
like  Upton's.  But  it  is  less  valuable,  from  the  point  of 
view  of  a  study  of  the  sources,  because  of  his  disregard  of 
Geoffrey  as  the  ultimate  source. 

In  a  comparatively  recent  edition  of  the  Faerie  Queene, 
the  editor,  Miss  Kate  M.  Warren,  makes  a  general  state- 

15  Book  II  of  the  Faery  Queene,  ed.  Kitchin,  p.  220. 

16  Ibid.,  p.  221. 

17  Book  II  of  the  Faery  Queene,  ed.  Kitchin,  p.  227,  note  on  st.  44, 
1.  9- 


8  SPENSER'S  BRITISH  CHRONICLE  HISTORY 

ment  of  what  she  conceives  to  be  the  situation,  but  refuses 
to  enter  into  details.  She  writes  as  follows :  -  "  Spenser 
here  based  his  '  facts  '  on  Geoffrey  of  Monmouth's  His- 
tory and  some  of  the  many  Elizabethan  Chroniclers,  such 
as  Holinshed,  Hardyng,  Camden,  etc.  In  many  cases 
these  '  facts '  are  mythical,  and  moreover,  the  poet  does  not 
even  keep  to  the  statements  as  made  by  the  historical  au- 
thorities he  used.  Sometimes,  however,  he  follows  them 
almost  word  for  word.  As  the  question  of  the  relationship 
of  the  statements  in  the  canto  to  Geoffrey  of  Monmouth 
and  the  chroniclers  is  one  chiefly  of  antiquarian  and  not 
of  literary  interest,  it  has  not  been  thought  necessary  to 
enlarge  on  it  at  all  fully  in  these  notes."  18  As  a  matter  of 
fact,  Miss  Warren's  scant  notes  show  little  original  investi- 
gation of  the  chronicle  history  material. 

The  one  writer  who  has  shown  an  appreciation  of  the 
problems  connected  with  Spenser's  chronicle  and  a  willing- 
ness to  cope  with  them,  although  in  a  limited  field,  is  Per- 
rett,  who  in  his  Story  of  King  Lear  has  made  a  careful 
study  of  the  few  stanzas  in  the  Faerie  Queene  which  deal 
with  that  subject.  The  "  auncient  booke,  hight  Briton 
monimcnts  "  he  declares  out  of  hand  was  "  Geoffrey's  liber 
vetustissimus"  19  As  for  Spenser's  version  of  King  Lear, 
he  concludes,  "  Geoffrey  alone  satisfies  all  demands 
.  .  .  But  Geoffrey  is  very  laxly  followed;  and  one  or 
two  points,  especially  the  title  of  Regan's  husband,  '  the 
king  of  Cambria/  suggest  that  Spenser  worked  without  the 
book,  but  from  memory,  aided  with  notes  of  Geoffrey." 
Moreover,  he  considers  that  the  "  rhyme  in  Spenser's  diffi- 
cult stanza  "  was  "  a  powerful  factor"  in  modifying  Spen- 
ser's narrative.  The  manner  of  Cordelia's  death,  for  in- 
stance, he  thinks  was  due  to  Spenser's  need  for  a  rhyme 
with  strong  and  long.  "  Herself,"  therefore,  "  she 

18  Faerie  Queene,  ed.  Kate  M.  Warren,   Constable  &  Co.,  London, 
1897,  vol.  II,  p.  272. 

19  Wilfrid  Perrett,  The  Story  of  King  Lear,  from  Geoffrey  of 
mouth  to  Shakespeare,  Berlin,  1904,  p.  90. 


INTRODUCTION  9 

hong."  20  "  In  Spenser,"  he  has  previously  written,  with 
regard  to  more  than  the  King  Lear  story,  "  we  have  to  do 
with  an  antiquary  who  had  followed  the  then  burning  ques- 
tion of  the  authenticity  of  the  British  record  with  a  zeal 
which  it  would  not  repay  me,  for  the  purposes  of  this  study, 
to  emulate,  I  therefore  leave  unanswered  such  questions 
as  why  he  wrote  '  Aganip  of  Celtica '  when  '  Gallia '  would 
have  given  a  better  rhyme;  what  was  his  authority  for 
sending  Bladud  to  Athens  (v.  228) ;  whence  came  his 
knowledge  of  the  Welsh  for  Brute  Greneshield,  etc.  (v. 
220  f.)."21 

The  difficulties  which  Perrett  mentions  are  only  some  of 
those  which  must  be  met  in  the  study  of  the  sources  of 
Spenser's  chronicle.  There  are,  as  he  suggests,  a  certain 
number  of  statements  for  which  no  authority  has  as  yet 
been  discovered,  although  Bladud' s  journey  to  Athens  is 
not  one  of  them.  But  there  is  more  to  be  done  than  to 
seek  the  authority  for  these. 

The  present  confusion  will  best  appear  from  a  brief  sum- 
mary of  the  results  which  have  been  treated  above  in  more 
detail.  According  to  Warton,  Spenser's  source  was 
Hardyng;  according  to  Upton  and  Craik,  it  was  Geoffrey 
of  Monmouth ;  according  to  Professor  Child,  Spenser  used 
both  Geoffrey  of  Monmouth  and  Holinshed;  according  to 
Kitchin,  he  used  Holinshed,  Hardyng,  and  Geoffrey  of 
Monmouth,  and  possibly  Camden  and  Stow;  according  to 
Miss  Warren,  he  used  Geoffrey  "  and  some  of  the  many 
Elizabethan  Chroniclers  " ;  and  finally  >  according  to  Per- 
rett, in  one  section  of  the  chronicle,  he  used  only  Geoffrey, 
or  more  probably,  notes  from  Geoffrey. 

A  complete  and  systematic  re-examination  of  the  subject 
is  evidently  necessary,  if  the  truth  is  to  be  established.  But 
first  it  seems  wise  to  see  what  light  Spenser's  other  work 
may  cast  on  his  probable  attitude  toward  the  chronicle  his- 
tories. 

20  Perrett,  Story  of  King  Lear,  pp.  91-92. 

21  Ibid.,  p.  91. 


II 

SPENSER'S  METHOD  OF  WORK 

In  the  description  of  the  rivers  in  the  Faerie  Queene, 
Book  IV,  Canto  n,  Spenser  handled  material  from  Holins- 
hed,  and  in  the  View  of  the  Present  State  of  Ireland  he 
referred  more  or  less  to  the  past  history  of  the  country. 
To  these  two  places,  then,  we  turn  for  a  preliminary  study 
of  Spenser's  method  of  work. 

The  marriage  of  the  Thames  and  the  Medway  was  a 
subject  long  in  Spenser's  mind.  Although  as  a  part  of  the 
Faerie  Queene  it  did  not  appear  until  1596,  it  was  at  least 
in  contemplation  much  earlier,  for  it  is  mentioned  in  a  let- 
ter to  Harvey  written  "  Quarto  Nonas  Aprilis,"  1580,  and 
printed  the  same  year.  The  passage  is  as  follows :  - 

"  For,  to  tell  you  trueth,  I  minde  shortely  at  convenient 
leysure,  to  sette  forth  a  Booke  in  this  kinde,  whiche  I  entitle 
Epithalamion  Thamesis:  whyche  Booke,  I  dare  undertake 
wil  be  very  profitable  for  the  knowledge,  and  rare  for  the 
Invention  and  manner  of  handling.  For  in  setting  forth  the 
marriage  of  the  Thames :  I  shewe  his  first  beginning,  and  off- 
spring, and  all  the  Countrey,  that  he  passeth  thorough,  and 
also  describe  all  the  Rivers  throughout  Englande,  whyche 
came  to  this  Wedding,  and  their  righte  names,  and  right 
passage,  &c.  A  worke,  beleeve  me,  of  much  labor,  wherein 
notwithstanding  Master  Holinshed  hath  muclie  furthered  and 
advantaged  me,  who  therein  hath  bestowed  singular  paines, 
in  searching  oute  their  first  heades  and  sources:  and  also  in 
tracing  and  dogging  oute  all  their  Course,  till  they  fall  into 
the  Sea. 

O  Tite,  siquid,  ego, 

Ecquid  erit  pretij  ? 

But  of  that  more  hereafter."  x 

1  Spenser,  Globe  ed.,  p.  709. 

10 


SPENSER'S  METHOD  OF  WORK  n 

This  letter  is  of  the  greatest  interest.  In  the  first  place, 
it  proves  Spenser's  acquaintance  with  the  first  edition  of 
Holinshed,  1577.  The  two  folio  volumes  of  that  edition 
may  even  have  been  among  the  books  which  Spenser  took 
with  him  to  Ireland  the  very  year  that  he  wrote  the  letter, 
1580.  In  the  second  place,  it  shows  that  Spenser  had  no 
mind,  even  then,  to  follow  Holinshed  slavishly.  His  main 
dependence  was  on  Holinshed,  who  had  "  muche  furthered 
and  advantaged  "  him,  but  he  planned  to  add  something  of 
value  himself,  and  the  effort  was  to  be  "  of  much  labour." 

Whether  the  Epithalamion  Thamesis  was  actually  writ- 
ten or  not  will  probably  never  be  known.2  For  the  pres- 
ent discussion  the  point  is  comparatively  unimportant. 
Spenser's  first  plan  was  to  compose  the  Epithalamion  in  the 
"  English  versifying "  which  was  then  so  popular  with  a 
group  of  English  scholars.  The  metre  was  to  depend  on 
quantity,  not  accent,  and  there  was  to  be  no  rhyme.3  Con- 
sequently, even  if  the  poem  was  written,  not  much  of  its 
wording  can  have  survived  in  the  Faerie  Queene,  for  the 
change  in  versification  would  have  necessitated  a  complete 
revision.  The  essential  point  is  that  the  account  of  the 

2  The  Epithalamion  Thamesis  is  not  mentioned  in  Harvey's  letter  to 
Spenser   (Spenser,  Globe  ed.,  pp.  709-710),  or  in  Ponsonbie's  notice 
to  the  reader  prefixed  to  the  Complaints  (Ibid.,  p.  488).     Yet  the  ex- 
pression "sette  forth,"  which  Spenser  uses  with  reference  to  the  poem 
on  the  Thames,  frequently  indicates  printing.    "  Since  my  late  setting 
forth  of  the  Faerie  Queene,"  wrote  Ponsonbie,  the  printer    (Ibid.,  p. 
488).    And  in  the  dedicatory  letter  prefixed  to  the  Prosopopoia  Spen- 
ser himself  said  that  having  lighted  upon  these  verses  "composed  in 
the  raw  conceipt"  of  his  youth,  he  "was  by  others,  which  liked  the 
same,   mooved   to   set   them   foorth"    (Ibid.,   p.    512).    So    when    he 
wrote  that  at  convenient   leisure   he  was   minded   "  to   sette   forth   a 
Booke     .     .     .     which   I    entitle   Epithalamion    Thamesis"   it   would 
seem  that  it  was  printing  that  he   referred   to,   and  that  the  verses 
were  partly,  if  not  wholly,  written. 

3  The  "  English  versifying "  may  in  itself  account  for  the  disappear- 
ance of  the  Epithalamion  Thamesis,  supposing  it  was  actually  written, 
for  Spenser  was   quickly   dissatisfied   with  this   experiment   in  metre. 
Failing  to  print  while   the   movement   was   at   its   height,   he   would 
naturally  have  kept  his  manuscript  and  put  it  away,  as   he  did  the 
manuscript  of  the  Prosopopoia.    Then,  after  he  had  cast  the  old  ma- 
terial  into   a  new   and   more   satisfactory   form,   he   would   have   de- 
stroyed the  first  version  of  it. 


12  SPENSER'S  BRITISH  CHRONICLE  HISTORY 

marriage  of  the  Thames,  as  it  appears  in  the  Faerie  Queene, 
includes  the  material  that  was  mentioned  in  the  letter  to 
Harvey.  "  The  first  beginning  and  offspring  of  the 
Thames  "  are  described,  and  the  "  righte  names  and  right 
passage  "  of  "  all  the  Rivers  throughout  Englande  whiche 
came  to  this  Wedding."  From  this  identity  of  material 
we  may  infer  that  Holinshed,  who  was  to  have  furthered 
the  earlier  form,  was  equally  advantageous  to  the  later. 
A  comparison  of  Spenser's  verse  with  the  description  of 
the  rivers  in  Holinshed  justifies  such  an  inference.  Holins- 
hed, for  instance,  writes  of  the  Thamar,  "  which  for  the 
most  part  parteth  Deuonshire  from  Cornewall," 4  and 
Spenser  paraphrases, 

"  There  was  the  speedy  Tamar,  which  devides 
The  Cornish  and  the  Devonish  confines."  5 

Again  in  Holinshed,  after  the  statement  that  the  Stoure 
"  ryseth  of  sixe  heds,"  there  is  a  list  of  the  towns  on  the 
Stoure,  which  includes  Blandford  and  Winburne.6  These 
facts  are  reproduced  by  Spenser  in  poetic  phraseology :  — 

"  And  there  came  Stoure  with  terrible  aspect, 
Bearing  his  sixe  deformed  heads  on  hye, 
That  doth  his  course  through  Blandford  plains  direct, 
And  washeth  Winborne  meades  in  season  drye."  7 

To  multiply  examples  of  the  influence  that  may  have 
been  exerted  by  the  1577  edition  of  Holinshed  would  be 
easy,  but  a  greater  interest  attaches  to  those  which  show 
that  Spenser  used  also  the  second,  or  1587,  edition.  This, 
indeed,  may  easily  have  replaced  entirely  the  first  edition, 
the  use  of  which  might  be  difficult  to  prove,  if  it  were  not 
for  the  reference  to  Holinshed  in  the  letter  to  Harvey, 
seven  years  before  the  appearance  of  the  second  edition. 
Four  examples  will  suffice  to  show  Spenser's  dependence 

*Hol.,  ed.  1577,  I,  p.  54. 
«F.  Q.,  IV,  11,  31. 
6  Hoi.,  ed.  1577,  I,  p.  52. 
^F.  Q.,  IV,  11,  32. 


SPENSER  S    METHOD    OF    WORK  13 

on  the  second  edition, —  namely,  his  description  of  the 
Trent,  of  the  Dart,  of  the  Lindus,  and  of  the  group  of 
three  Irish  rivers,  the  Shure,  the  Newre,  and  the  Barrow. 
The  account  of  the  Trent  runs  as  follows  in  the  second 
edition  of  Holinshed :  — "  The  Trent  is  one  of  the  most  ex- 
cellent riuers  in  the  land,  not  onelie  for  store  of  samon, 
sturgeon,  and  sundrie  other  kinds  of  delicate  fish  where- 
with it  dooth  abound,  but  also  for  that  it  is  increased  with 
so  manie  waters,  as  for  that  onelie  cause  it  may  be  com- 
pared with  the  Ouze  or  Sauerne  .  .  ." 8  In  th*e 
first  edition  there  is  no  mention  of  the  "  sundrie  .  .  . 
kinds  ...  of  fish."  9  But  Spenser  writes, 

"  And  bounteous  Trent,  that  in  himself  enseames 

Both  thirty  sorts  of  fish  and  thirty  sundry  streames."  10 

As  this  grouping  of  the  various  kinds  of  fish  and  the  sun- 
dry streams  is  not  one  that  would  naturally  have  occurred 
to  Spenser  without  knowledge  of  Holinshed,  it  indicates 
his  use  of  the  second  edition. 

The  account  of  the  Dart  in  the  second  edition  of  Holins- 
hed is  much  expanded  from  that  in  the  first  edition.  It 
gives  for  the  first  time  the  following  sentence :  — "  Of  it 
selfe  moreouer  this  water"  (the  Dart)  "  is  verie  swift, 
and  thorough  occasion  of  tin-workes  whereby  it  passeth,  it 
carrieth  much  sand  to  Totnesse  bridge,  and  so  choketh  the 
depth  of  the  riuer  downeward,  that  the  hauen  it  selfe  is 
almost  spoiled  by  the  same.11  This  re-appears  in  Spenser's 
line, 

8  Hoi.,  Descr.  of  Eng.,  I,  ch.   15,  ed.  1587,  vol.  I,  p.  96. 

9  In  the  first  edition  of  Holinshed,  I,  p.  70  b,  the  text  runs,  "  The 
Trent  is  one  of  the  most  excellent  ryuers  in  the  lande,  and  increased 
wyth  so  many  waters     .      .      ."  etc. 

10  F.  Q.,  IV,  11,  35- 

11  Hoi.,  Descr.  of  Eng.,  I,  ch.  12.     The  full  text  of  the  two  editions 
is  as  follows :     "  The  riuer  of  Darnt  commeth  out  of  Darntmore,  XV. 
myles   aboue   Totnesse    (as   I    said   before)    from   whence   it   goeth    to 
Bucklande   Hole,   and   soone   after   taking   in   the   Asheburn   water    on 
the  one  side  that  runneth   from   Saddleton   rocke  by  north,   and  the 
Buckfastlich  that  commeth   from  north  west,   it  runneth   to   Staunton, 
Darington,    Hemston,    and    there    also    crossing    a    rill    on    eche    side, 


14  SPENSER'S  BRITISH  CHRONICLE  HISTORY 

"And  Dart,  nigh  chockt  with  sands  of  tinny  mines."12 

Even  the  word  "  chockt "  is  the  word  of  Holinshed. 

The  river  Lindis  is  mentioned  in  both  editions  of  Holins- 
hed, but  only  in  the  second  edition  is  there  reference  to 
the  fact  that  it  gives  its  name  to  Lincoln.  Holinshed  pre- 
fers the  name  Witham,  and  quotes  the  old  rhyme, 

"Ancolme  ele,  and  Witham  pike, 

Search  all  England  and  find  not  the  like." 

He  then  refers  to  the  other  names  of  the  river.  (f  Leland 
calleth  it  Lindis,  diuerse  the  Rhe,  and  I  haue  read  all  these 
names  my  selfe:  and  thereto  that  the  Lincolneshire  men 
were  called  in  old  time  Coritani,  and  their  head  citie  Lin- 
dus,  Lindon,  or  Linodunum  .  ..  ,13  This  informa- 
tion is  given  by  Spenser  in  two  lines :  — 

"And  Lindus,  that  his  pikes  doth  most  commend, 
Of  which  the  auncient  Lincolne  men  doe  call."  " 

Finally,  Spenser's  description  of  the  three  Irish  rivers, 
the  Shure,  the  Newre,  and  the  Barrow,  gives  a  particularly 

passeth  forth  to  Totnesse,  Bowden,  and  aboue  Gabriell  Stoke,  meeteth 
with  the  Hartburne  that  runneth  vnder  Rost  bridge,  two  miles  aboue 
Totnesse,  or  as  an  other  sayeth,  by  Ratter,  Harberton,  Painesford, 
and  Asprempton  into  Darnt,  which  ere  long  also  commeth  to  Corn- 
worthy,  Greneway,  Ditsham,  Darntmouth,  betwene  the  Castels,  and 
so  into  the  sea"  (Hoi.,  ed.  1577,  I,  p.  53  b).  "The  riuer  of  Dart 
or  Darent  (for  I  read  Derenta  muth  for  Dartmouth)  commeth  out 
of  Dartmore  fifteene  miles  aboue  Totnesse,  in  a  verie  large  plot,  and 
such  another  wild  morish  &  forrestie  ground  as  Exmore  is.  Of  it 
selfe  moreouer  this  water  is  verie  swift,  and  thorough  occasion  of 
tin-workes  whereby  it  passeth,  it  carrieth  much  sand  to  Totnesse 
bridge,  and  so  choketh  the  depth  of  the  riuer  downeward,  that  the 
hauen  it  selfe  is  almost  spoiled  by  the  same.  The  mariners  of  Dart- 
mouth accompt  this  to  be  about  a  kenning  from  Plimmouth.  The 
Darent  therefore  proceeding  from  the  place  of  his  vprising,  goeth  on 
to  Buckland  hole;  and  soone  after  taking  in  the  Ashburne  water 
.  .  ."  etc.  as  above  (Hoi.,  ed.  1587,  vol.  I,  p,  60). 

«R  Q.,  IV,  11,31. 

13  Hoi.,  Descr.  of  Eng.  i,  ch.  16,  ed.  1587,  vol.  I,  p.  100.  The  cor- 
responding passage  in  the  first  edition  is  as  follows :— "  Lelande  calleth 
it  Lindis,  diuers  the  Rhe,  and  I  haue  read  all  those  names  my  selfe, 
except  my  memory  do  faile  me.  It  riseth  among  the  Wickhams 

f  3P577' "• 32)" 


SPENSER S    METHOD   OF   WORK  15 

clear  proof  of  his  use  of  the  second  edition  of  Holinshed. 
In  the  first  edition  I  have  not  been  able  to  find  any  account 
of  them.  In  the  second  edition  the  following  passage  oc- 
curs :  — "  The  Barrow  is  a  goodlie  and  a  notable  riuer, 
hauing  his  head  or  spring  in  the  hill  called  Mons  Blandina 
or  Slogh  Blome,  in  which  also  are  the  heads  or  springs  of 
the  two  other  notable  riuers  Sure  and  the  other  Eoire. 
This  Barrow  keepeth  and  hath  his  course  through  the 
countie  of  Lex  .  .  .  and  so  to  Rosse,  a  little  aboue 
which  towne  it  meeteth  and  ioineth  with  the  Eoire  and 
they  togither  keepe  their  course  about  six  miles,  vntill  they 
meet  with  the  Sure  .  .  .  and  as  they  all  doo  spring 
and  rise  out  of  one  mounteine,  so  after  they  haue  taken 
their  seuerall  courses,  they  meet  togither  and  take  one  waie 
into  the  seas.  They  are  all  nauigable,  and  all  alike  re- 
plenished with  sundrie  sorts  and  kinds  of  fishes."  15  Spen- 
ser has  elaborated  this  account,  but  reproduces  the  facts  ac- 
curately. He  first  describes  the  meeting  of  the  giant 
Blomius  and  the  nymph  Rheusa  "  under  Slewboome  in 
shady  grove."  Then,  he  continues,  Rheusa  gave  birth  to 

"  three  faire  sons,  which  being  thenceforth  powrd 
In  three  great  rivers  ran    .     .     ." 

The  first  was  the  Shure,  the  next  the  Newre,  and  the  third 
"  the  goodly  Barow." 

"All  which,  long  sundred,  doe  at  last  accord 

To  joyne  in  one,  ere  to  the  sea  they  come; 

So,  flowing  all  from  one,  all  one  at  last  become."  16 

This  conclusion  is  strikingly  like  the  sentence  next  to  the 
last  in  the  extract  from  the  1587  edition  of  Holinshed. 
But  with  the  description  of  the  Irish  rivers  a  new  ele- 

115  Hoi.,  Conquest  of  Ireland,  II,  ch.  23,  ed.  1587,  vol.  II,  p.  46. 
There  is  also  an  earlier  mention  of  the  Shure,  "  a  goodlie  and  a 
notable  riuer,"  which  is  said  to  have  its  source  in  "  a  certeine  hill 
called  Blandina,  but  in  Irish  Sloghblome,  for  the  pleasantnesse  thereof." 
See  Hoi.,  Conquest  of  Ireland,  I,  ch.  32,  ed.  1587,  vol.  II,  p.  22. 

16  F.  Q.,  IV,  n,  stanzas  42-43. 


16  SPENSER'S  BRITISH  CHRONICLE  HISTORY 

merit  enters  into  the  consideration  of  Spenser's  sources,  for 
here  Camden's  Britannia  seems  to  have  been  used  in  con- 
nection with  Holinshed.17  In  Camden  we  read,  "Infra 
Ormondian  Bliew  Blemy,  (Bladina  montes  vocat  Giraldus,) 
se  leuiter  conuexis  iugis  attollunt,  e  quorum  visceribus 
quasi  maternis  Suirus  quern  dixi,  Neorus  &  Birgus  aedun- 
tur,  &  diuisis  alueis  decurrentes,  priusquaw  Oceanuw 
adeunt,  concordibus  se  consociant  aquis,  vnde  Tres  sorores 
ab  antiquis  dicte."  Camden  also  speaks  of  "  Birgus,  nunc 
Barrow."1*  Here,  in  Camden's  "e  quorum  visceribus 
quasi  maternis  "  and  his  "  Tres  sorores,"  is  a  suggestion  of 
Spenser's  fable.  Furthermore,  the  names  of  the  rivers 
and  the  order  in  which  they  are  enumerated  indicate  the 
use  of  Camden,  as  the  following  table  shows : 

Holinshed  Camden  Spenser 

1  Barrow Suirus Shure. 

2  Sure Neorus Newre. 

3  Eoire Birgus  (nunc  Barrow)  ....  Barow. 

Beside  the  use  that  Spenser  made  of  these  two  authori- 
ties there  are  indications  of  some  personal  knowledge  of 
the  rivers,  such  as  might  be  expected  after  Spenser's  long 
residence  in  Ireland.  For  instance,  while  he  calls  the 
Shure  "  gentle,"  he  speaks  of  the  "  waters  gray  "  of  "  stub- 
borne  Newre."  19 

In  one  case,  at  least,  Spenser's  modifications  of  Holins- 
hed's  narrative  led  him  into  error.  According  to  Holins- 
hed the  Thamar  and  the  Plym  both  fall  into  the  Haven  at 

17  Spenser's    knowledge    of    Camden's    work    is    a    certainty.     There 
are  two  references  to  Camden  in  the   View  of  the  Present  State  of 
Ireland,  and  a  stanza  in  praise  of  him  in  the  Ruines  of  Time   (Spen- 
ser, Globe  ed.,  p.  491). 

18  Camden's  Britannia,  p.  695. 

19  Dr.    Percy  W.   Long  has   called   my  attention   to   two   articles   by 
Mr.   Thomas   Keightley,   On  the  Life   of  Edmund   Spenser    (Frasers 
Magazine,    October,    1859)    and    Irish    Rivers    named    in    the    Faerie 
Queene   (Notes  and  Queries,  28  October,  1869),  in  both  of  which  the 
influence  of  Spenser's  personal  knowledge  of  Ireland  is  assumed. 


SPENSER'S  METHOD  OF  WORK  17 

Plymouth.20  Spenser  represents  the  Thamar  as  "  meeting 
Plim  "  and  thence  declining  to  "  Plimmouth,"  21  —  an  im- 
possible geographical  statement,  as  a  glance  at  the  map 
will  show. 

For  the  purposes  of  a  study  of  Spenser's  sources  in 
chronicle  history  it  is  not  necessary  to  pursue  this  investi- 
gation further.  The  examples  already  given  are  sufficient 
to  bring  out  several  facts  about  Spenser's  method  of  han- 
dling the  material  that  he  drew,  at  least  in  part,  from  books. 
In  the  first  place,  there  was  no  uniformity  about  it.  He 
sometimes  followed  accurately  the  source  from  which  he 
was  drawing,  as  in  the  case  of  the  Stoure  and  the  Thamar, 
and  again  he  introduced  a  variation  from  his  source,  as 
with  the  Plim.  At  one  time  he  made  a  masterly  brief  sum- 
mary, as  in  the  case  of  the  Dart,  and  at  another  he  ex- 
panded his  account  with  poetic  imagery,  as  in  the  case  of 
the  Stoure  and  the  three  Irish  rivers.  In  the  second  place, 
Spenser  accumulated  material  from  different  sources.  Here 
again  the  three  Irish  rivers  will  serve  to  illustrate,  com- 
bining, as  they  do,  material  from  Holinshed,  from  Cam- 
den,  and  from  what  seems  to  be  personal  observation. 
Finally,  in  the  third  place,  it  is  clear  that  Spenser  continued, 
after  1580,  to  read  on  the  subject  of  the  rivers  of  Great 
Britain,  and  that  he  knew  the  latest  authorities,  as  his  use 
of  the  Britannia  of  1586  and  the  Holinshed  of  1587  abun- 
dantly proves.  We  find,  in  short,  exactly  what  the  letter 
to  Harvey  would  lead  us  to  expect.  Spenser  both  used 
Holinshed  and  added  to  Holinshed.  He  thus,  as  a  result 
of  "  much  labour,"  wrote  stanzas  which  in  his  time,  at  least, 
were  undoubtedly  "profitable  for  the  knowledge  and  rare 
for  the  Invention  and  manner  of  handling." 

We  turn  now  to  consider  Spenser's  use  of  historical  rec- 
ords in  the  View  of  the  Present  State  of  Ireland.22  Dr. 

20  Hoi.,  ed.   1577,  I,  p.  54.     The  same  statement  is  repeated  in  the 
second  edition,  vol.  I,  p.  61. 

21  F.  Q.,  IV,  11,  31. 

22  Entered  on  the   Stationers'  Register  in   1598,  and  probably  writ- 
ten before  1596,  which  is  said  to  be  the  date  of  the  manuscripts. 


i8  SPENSER'S  BRITISH  CHRONICLE  HISTORY 

Wilhelm  Riedner,  in  Spenser s  Belesenheit  (Leipzig,  1908), 
has  shown  that  Spenser's  citations  from  classical  authori- 
ties in  this  work  are  in  nearly  every  case  false.  Neverthe- 
less, a  certain  interest  attaches  to  the  list  of  authors  to 
whom  he  refers.  The  list  is  as  follows:  —  Buchanan, 
Caesar,  Strabo,  Tacitus,  Ptolemy,  Pliny,  Pompeius  Mela, 
Berosus,  Vincentius,  yEneas  Silvius,  Luddus,  Camden, 
Diodorus  Siculus,  Bede,  Olaus  Magnus,  Jo.  Bohemus, 
Herodotus,  the  Greek  Commentaries  upon  Callimachus, 
Vergil,  Stanihurst,  Solinus,  and  Herodianus.23  Appar- 
ently, to  Spenser,  a  poet  was  quite  as  good  historical  au- 
thority as  a  writer  of  chronicles. 

The  subjects  that  led  to  this  array  of  names  show  what 
trivial  matters  sometimes  held  Spenser's  attention.  There 
were  "  Irin  or  Irish  Scotts  "  and  "  Albin-Scotts,"  so  that 
some  writers  called  Ireland  "  Scotia  major  "  and  Scotland 
"Scotia  minor."24  The  "Gaulish  speach "  used  by  the 
British  before  the  coming  of  the  Saxons  is  still  retained  by 
the  Welshmen,  the  Cornishmen,  and  the  Britons  of  France.25 
Ireland  was  anciently  called  Britannia,  and  was  a  part  of 
Great  Britain,  besides  having  been  later,  as  "  appeareth 
by  good  record  yet  extant,"  under  subjection  to  Gurgunt 
and  to  King  Arthur.26  Their  method  of  pasturing  cattle, 
the  wearing  of  a  mantle,  their  battle  cries,  their  arms,  their 
oaths,  and  their  wailing  for  the  dead,  are  all  customs  that 
the  Irish  have  in  common  with  the  ancient  Scythians.27 
The  origin  of  the  battle  cry  "  Farrih  "  may  be  from  one 
of  the  first  kings  of  Scotland,  "  Fargus,  Fergus,  or  Fer- 
ragus,"  or  from  "  Pharao,"  whose  daughter  Scota  led  the 
Egyptians  who  first  settled  Ireland,  though  the  latter  story 
is  probably  "  a  senceless  fable."  28  Such  are  the  statements 

23  These  names  are  given  in  the  order  of  their  appearance  in  the 
View  of  the  Present  State  of  Ireland. 

24  Spenser,  Globe  ed.,  p.  625. 

25  Ibid.,  p.  628. 

26  Ibid.,  p.  629. 

27  Ibid.,  pp.  630,  632,  633  and  634. 

28  Ibid.,  p.  632. 


19 

that  required  the  citation  of  authorities,  sometimes  two  or 
three  for  a  single  point. 

The  Irish  chronicles  are  mentioned  several  times.  They 
all  agree,  Irenaeus  says,  that  the  first  settlers  of  Ireland 
came  "  out  of  Spayne,"  though  "  whether  they  were  native 
Spaynyards,  or  Gaules,  or  Affricans,  or  Gothes,  or  some 
other  of  those  Northerne  Nations  whiche  did  overspredd  all 
Christendome,  it  is  impossible  to  affirme,  onely  some  naked 
conjectures  may  be  gathered  .  .  ."  When  Eudoxus 
charges  Irenaeus  with  leaning  too  boldly  on  "  those  Irish 
chronicles  which  are  most  fabulous  and  forged,"  inasmuch 
as  of  the  ancient  times  there  remain  "  onely  bare  tradi- 
tions of  times  and  remembrances  of  Bardes,  which  use 
to  forge  and  falsifye  every  thing  as  they  list  .  .  ," 
Irenaeus  makes  a  lengthy  defence: 

"  I  doe  herein  relye  upon  those  Bards  or  Irish  Chroniclers, 
though  the  Irish  themselves,  through  theyr  ignoraunce  in 
matters  of  learning  and  deepe  judgement,  doe  most  constantly 
beleve  and  avouch^  them,  but  unto  them  besides  I  add  my 
owne  reading;  and  out  of  them  both  togither,  with  comparison 
of  times,  likewise  of  manners  and  customes,  affinitye  of 
woordes  and  names,  propertyes  of  natures  and  uses,  resem- 
blances of  rytes  and  ceremonyes,  monumentes  of  churches 
and  tombes,  and  many  other  like  circumstaunces,  I  doe  gather 
a  likelihood  of  trueth;  not  certaynly  affirming  any  thing,  but 
by  conferring  of  times,  languages,  monumentes,  and  such 
like,  I  doe  hunte  out  a  probabilitye  of  thinges,  which  I  leave 
to  your  judgement  to  beleve  or  refuse.  Nevertheless  there 
be  some  very  auncient  authors  which  make  mention  of  these 
thinges,  and  some  moderne,  which  by  comparing  them  with 
present  times,  experience,  and  theyr  owne  reason,  doe  open 
a  windowe  of  great  light  unto  the  rest  that  is  yet  unseene; 
as  namely,  of  the  older  Caesar,  Strabo,  Tacitus,  Ptolomie, 
Plinie,  Pompeius  Mela,  and  Berosus:  of  the  later,  Vincen- 
tius,  ^Eneas  Silvius,  Luddus,  Buckhanan;  of  all  which  I  doe 
give  most  credit  unto  Buckhanan,  for  that  he  himself,  being 
an  Irish  Scott  or  Picte  by  nation,  and  being  very  excellently 
learned,  and  industrious  to  seeke  out  the  trueth  of  these 
thinges  concerning  the  originall  of  his  owne  people,  hath  both 
sett  downe  the  testimonyes  of  the  auncientes  truely,  and  his 


2o  SPENSER'S  BRITISH  CHRONICLE  HISTORY 

owne  opinion,  withall  very  reasonably,  though  in  some  thinges 
he  doth  somewhat  flatter.  Besides,  the  Bards  and  Irish 
Chroniclers  themselves,  though  throughe  desire  of  pleasing 
perhaps  to  much,  and  through  ignoraunce  of  arte  and  purer 
learning,  they  have  clouded  the  trueth  of  those  times;  yet 
there  appeareth  amongest  them  some  reliques  of  the  true 
antiquitye,  though  disguised,  which  a  well-eyed  man  may  hap- 
pely  discover  and  find  out."'29 

As  Spenser  made  no  effort  to  characterize  the  interlocutors 
in  his  dialogue,  which  is  expository  rather  than  dramatic, 
we  are  justified  in  accepting  this  as  a  statement  of  Spenser's 
own  method. 

Add  to  this  the  facts  that  Irenseus  had  Irish  poems 
translated  to  him!,  and  that  such  phrases  as  these  are  com- 
mon in  the  View  of  the  Present  State  of  Ireland:  — 
"...  I  have  reade  in  many  Historyes  and  Chron- 
icles .  .  .  ," 30  "  There  be  many  greate  author- 
ityes  .  .  .  " ; 31  "  .  .  .  so  f arre  as  I  have 
learned  the  same  from  some  of  themselves,  and  gathered 
the  rest  by  readinge" ; 32  "  And  first  in  this  our  realme  of 
England,  it  is  manifest,  by  reporte  of  the  Chronicles  and 
auncient  writers  of  England" ;  33  and,  "  I  have  reade  in 
auncient  recordes  of  England." 34  Consider  finally  the 
comment  of  Eudoxus :  "  This  ripping  up  of  auncient  his- 
toryes  is  very  pleasing  unto  me,  and  indeede  savoureth  of 
goode  conceite,  and  some  reading  withall."  35 

The  very  name  Irenseus  is  a  proof  of  Spenser's  reading 
and  of  his  tendency  to  borrow  from  his  predecessors.  In 
Holinshed  there  are  long  quotations  from  a  Latin  dialogue 
on  Ireland,  written  by  "  one  M.  Alan  Cope,  or  some  other 
that  masketh  vnder  hys  visours."  36  The  interlocutors  are 

29  Spenser,  Globe  ed.,  pp.  625-626. 

30  Spenser,  Globe  ed.,  p.  643. 

31  Ibid.,  p.  643. 

32  Ibid.,  p.  659. 

33  Ibid.,  p.  671. 

34  Ibid.,  p.  676. 
35/foU,  p.  629. 

36  Hoi.,  ed.  1577,  II,  The  Description  of  Ireland,,  pp.  5  ff. 


SPENSER'S  METHOD  OF  WORK  21 

Irenaeus,  an  Englishman,  and  Critobolus,  a  German.  From 
this  dialogue,  either  directly  or  through  Holinshed,  Spenser 
must  have  borrowed  the  name  of  Irenaeus,  and  perhaps 
even  the  form  in  which  he  cast  his  work. 

Both  directly  and  indirectly,  then,  we  gather  from  the 
View  of  the  Present  State  of  Ireland  evidence  as  to  Spen- 
ser's attitude  toward  chronicle  histories.  It  would  seem 
that  he  liked  to  read  and  compare  them.  He  sifted  evi- 
dence, preferred  one  authority  to  another,  viewed  the  past 
by  the  light  of  the  present,  used  reason  as  a  test  of  truth, 
compared  times,  manners  and  customs,  rites  and  cere- 
monies, gave  thought  to  words  and  names,  and  even  in- 
spected monuments  of  churches  and  tombs,  only  to  "  gather 
a  likelihood  of  trueth,"  and  to  "  hunt  out  a  probabilitye  of 
thinges." 

Yet  with  all  this  Spenser  was  no  whit  in  advance  of  his 
times  in  his  historical  methods.  He  did  not  consistently 
reject  such  statements  as  were  without  a  firm  foundation  of 
contemporary  records.  He  was  credulous  of  the  printed 
word.  He  even,  for  all  we  know,  accepted  the  History 
of  the  British  kings  as  a  veracious  account  of  the  past. 
Certainly  he  referred  to  King  Arthur  and  to  Gurgunt  ex- 
actly as  he  referred,  later  in  the  same  speech,  to  King 
Egfrid  and  Edgar.37 

Like  his  contemporaries,  Spenser  was  interested  in  mat- 
ters which  seem  to  us  insignificant  trifles,  but  which  then, 
dignified  by  the  nam)e  of  "  antiquities,"  made  the  reputation 

37  Spenser,  Globe  ed.,  p.  629.  But  see  also  Appendix  I  of  the  Globe 
ed.,  p.  704,  for  evidence  to  the  contrary  in  a  passage  printed  by  Ware, 
though  marked  for  omission  on  the  authority  of  the  best  manuscripts. 
"  But  the  Irish  doe  heerein  no  otherwise  then  our  vaine  Englishmen 
doe  in  the  Tale  of  Brutus,  whom  they  devise  to  have  first  conquered 
and  inhabited  this  land,  it  being  as  impossible  to  prove,  that  there 
was  ever  any  such  Brutus  of  Albion  or  England  as  it  is  that  there 
was  any  such  Gathelus  of  Spaine."  This  passage,  if  it  expresses 
Spenser's  real  opinion,  indicates  a  hesitancy  in  accepting  the  accounts 
of  the  more  remote  period  of  British  history.  Such  hesitancy,  how- 
ever, would  not  necessarily  extend  to  other  parts  of  the  British  chron- 
icle history.  Furthermore,  the  omission  of  the  passage  in  the  best 
manuscripts  suggests  that  Spenser  did  not  wish  to  commit  himself 
to  any  such  expression  of  doubt. 


22  SPENSER'S  BRITISH  CHRONICLE  HISTORY 

of  many  learned  antiquarians.  Even  Camden,  most  famous 
of  them  all,  would  enter  into  a  long  discussion  of  the  nation- 
ality of  Gormond,  and  repeat  the  tale  of  Gogmagog,  and 
recount  the  wonders  of  England.  All  was  grist  that  came 
to  the  mill  of  an  antiquarian.  We  have  William  Lam- 
barde,  for  instance,  writing  in  the  dedication  prefixed  to  his 
Perambulation  of  Kent,  "I  ...  did  not  onely  my 
selfe  digge  and  rake  together  whatsoeuer  I  coulde  of  that 
kinde,  but  procured  diuers  of  my  friends  also  to  set  to  their 
hands  and  doe  the  like."  Now  Spenser  was  at  heart  a 
topographer  and  an  antiquarian,  as  well  as  a  poet.  Like 
his  fellows,  he  found  nothing  too  insignificant  for  his  notice, 
and  was  capable  of  picking  up  a  tenderly  prized  "  author- 
ity "  almost  anywhere. 

William  Lambarde's  book  brings  out  another  character- 
istic of  the  time.  It  was  "written  in  the  yeere  1570 
.  .  .  first  published  in  the  year  1576,  and  now  in- 
creased and  altered  after  the  Authors  owne  last  Copie,"  in 
I596.38  Constant  revision,  even  after  publication,  was 
usual  in  the  case  of  books  that  dealt  with  antiquities  and 
topography,  with  details  rather  than  principles.  Such  work 
is  never  complete.  Therefore  we  should  expect  to  find 
Spenser's  work  of  this  kind  constantly  revised  and  never 
done,  for,  as  the  View  of  the  Present  State  of  Ireland 
shows,  he  had  a  keen  interest  in  matters  of  antiquarian  de- 
tail. 

In  our  study  of  Spenser's  treatment  of  the  rivers  of  Great 
Britain,  we  found  that  Spenser  in  1580  was  using  the  first 
edition  of  Holinshed  and  planning  to  supplement  it  from 
other  sources.  We  found  also  that  before  1596,  when  the 
last  three  books  of  the  Faerie  Queene  were  published,  he 
was  using  Camden's  Britannia  and  the  second  edition  of 
Holinshed,  and  finally  we  saw  in  his  work  accuracy  in  the 
treatment  of  borrowed  material  alternating  with  freedom. 
From  our  study  of  the  View  of  the  Present  State  of  Ireland 
we  add  the  inferences  that  detail  which  seems  insignificant 

38  Title  page,  ed.  1596,  "  Imprinted  at  London  by  Edm.  Bollisant." 


SPENSER'S  METHOD  OF  WORK  23 

to  us  was  of  significance  to  him,  that  he  believed  in  col- 
lecting material  from  any  and  every  source,  choosing  here 
and  rejecting  there,  though  not  on  modern  principles,  and 
finally  that  he  had  a  considerable  knowledge  of  authors  ^ 
who  dealt  with  chronicle  history  and  similar  subjects. 


Ill 

THE  PROBABLE  SOURCES  OF  SPENSER'S 
BRITISH  CHRONICLE  HISTORY 

If  Spenser  was  in  the  habit  of  collecting  material  from 
different  books,  as  the  preceding  chapter  indicates,  it  is 
clear  that  all  probable  sources  for  his  chronicle  of  British 
kings  must  be  examined.  What,  then,  were  these  probable 
sources? 

In  the  time  of  Spenser  the  story  of  the  British  kings  ex- 
isted both  in  manuscript  and  printed  forms.  The  manu- 
scripts were  of  two  classes.  The  first  class  is  composed  of 
the  older  versions,  such  as  Lagamon's  Brut,  the  Chronicle 
of  "  Robert  of  Gloucester/'  and  the  metrical  chronicle 
printed  by  Ritson.  The  second  class  includes  the  work  of 
those  who  were  contemporary  with  Spenser,  such  a  manu- 
script, for  instance,  as  Harrison's  Chronologic.  The 
printed  forms  ranged  from  the  original  Geoffrey,  composed 
about  1136,  through  Caxton,  1480,  down  to  Holinshed, 
1577,  and  Stow,  1580. 

The  first  question  that  inevitably  arises  is,  whether  or  no 
the  manuscript  versions  of  the  history  of  the  British  kings 
are  to  be  considered  as  probable  sources.  For  the  purpose 
of  the  present  investigation  the  question  has  been  answered 
in  the  negative.  Manuscripts,  it  is  true,  were  still  owned 
and  read  by  the  Elizabethans,1  although  even  in  their  time 

1  The  chroniclers  in  the  Elizabethan  period  naturally  had  recourse 
to  manuscript  material,  and  we  find  evidence  of  its  use  by  others. 
Sir  Henry  Ellis,  in  the  preface  to  his  edition  of  Hardyng's  Chronicle 
(pp.  xiv-xvi),  mentions  seven  manuscripts  of  the  Chronicle,  and 
of  the  fourth  says  that  it  "appears  to  have  been,  in  1604,  in  the 
collection  of  Peter  Manwood,  and  cost,  at  that  time,  twenty  shillings." 
He  refers  also  to  "  fragments  of  another  manuscript  written  upon 
paper,  from  an  old  family  library  in  the  country."  The  inference  is 
that  manuscripts  existed  in  common  use  side  by  side  with  books. 

24 


PROBABLE    SOURCES  25 

printed  books  were  more  common,  and  were  fast  relegating 
to  neglect  all  manuscripts  that  were  not  of  contemporary 
interest.  While  recent  writings  circulated  freely  before  they 
were  printed,  especially  in  select  circles  of  the  author's 

Thomas  Wright,  in  the  introduction  to  Feudal  Manuals  of  English 
History  (London,  1872,  pp.  ix-xi),  says  that  during  the  feudal 
period  a  synopsis  of  English  history,  written  on  rolls,  was  to  be 
found  in  every  manor  house  in  England.  The  keeping  of  these  rolls 
was  a  custom  peculiar  to  England.  The  five  that  he  prints  are  all 
brief.  The  English  Roll  begins  with  Brutus.  Of  similar  character  is 
the  Short  English  Chronicle  edited  by  Gairdner  in  Three  Fifteenth 
Century  Chronicles,  Camden  Society,  1880. 

Higgins,  in  his  address  to  the  reader  (Mirror  for  Magistrates,  ed. 
H'aslewood,  I,  p.  7),  refers  to  two  manuscripts  which  he  has  used. 
"  I  haue  seen  no  anncient  antiquities  in  written  hand  but  two :  one 
was  Galfridus  of  Munmouth,  which  I  lost  by  misfortune ;  the  other, 
an  old  chronicle  in  a  kind  of  Englishe  verse,  beginning  at  Brute,  and 
ending  at  the  death  of  Humfrey,  Duke  of  Gloucester;  in  the  which 
and  diuers  other  good  chronicles  I  finde  many  thinges  not  mentioned 
in  that  great  tome  engroced  of  late  by  Maister  Grafton;  and  that, 
where  he  is  most  barraine  and  wants  matter."  The  chronicle  in 
verse  is  supposed  to  be  Hardyng's  (see  Perrett,  Story  of  King  Lear, 
p.  85).  But  a  stanza  in  Bladud  seems  to  indicate  the  use  of  another 
manuscript.  The  hot  springs  of  Bath  are  described  in  the  ninth 
stanza  (pp.  116-117)  as  follows: 

"  Some  saye  I  made  the  holesome  Baths  at  Bathe, 
And  made  therefore  two  Tunnes  of  burning  brasse: 
And  other  twayne  seauen  kindes  of  saltes  that  haue 
In  them  inclos'd,  but  these  bee  made  of  glasse, 
With  sulphur  fild,  wilde  fire  emixt  there  was, 
And  in  fbure  welles  these  Tunnes  so  placed  heate  for  aye 
The  water  springing  vp,  before  it  passe  away." 

The  source  of  this  description  seems  to  be  the  following  lines  from 
the    metrical    fragment    found    by    Sir    Fred.    Madden    in    the    Cotton 
copy  of  the  Chronicle  of  "  Robert  of  Gloucester  " :  — 
"  Two  tunnes  there  beth  of  bras, 

And  other  two   imaked   of  glas; 

Seue  saltes  ther  buth  inne 

And  other  thing  imaked  with  ginne ; 

Quick  brimston  in  other  also, 

With  wilde  fur  imaked  thereto; 

Sal  gemme  and  sal  petre, 

Sal  armonac  ther  is  eke; 

Sal  abrod,  and  sal  alkyn, 

Sal  comin,  and  sal  almetre  bright, 

That  brenneth  bothe  day  and  night,"  etc. 

(See  Madden's  edition  of  Lagamon,  III,  p.  318.)  The  italics  indi- 
cate the  resemblance  of  detail  in  the  two  descriptions,  and  a  com- 
parison with  the  accounts  given  in  the  other  chronicles  so  far  as 
they  are  now  known,  will  not  show  these  details  elsewhere.  Higgins, 


26  SPENSER'S  BRITISH  CHRONICLE  HISTORY 

friends,  really  old  manuscripts  do  not  seem  to  have  been 
often  read,  and  had  probably,  in  some  cases,  been  lost  to 
sight  and  forgotten.2  It  must  be  admitted  that  chance 
might  have  thrown  into  Spenser's  hands  almost  any  manu- 
script then  in  existence.  A  visit  in  a  country  house  might 
have  left  him/  with  idle  hours  when  he  ransacked  library 
shelves  for  amusement.  He  might  have  spent  a  morning  in 
chapter-house  or  college  library,  reading  some  manuscript 
half  illegible,  or  because  of  its  old  English,  half  incompre- 
hensible. He  might  have  talked  of  manuscripts  with  anti- 
quarian friends  and  read  treasures  that  they  produced  from 
their  private  stores.  We  have  no  clue,  however,  to  guide 
us  through  the  maze  created  by  such  conjectures.  We 
could  never  come  to  a  satisfactory  conclusion.  Many 
manuscripts  are  still  unprinted,  and  probably  many  private 
chronicles  which  existed  in  Spenser's  time  have  perished 
altogether.  It  has  seemed  best,  therefore,  in  the  absence  of 
proof  to  the  contrary,  to  assume  that  Spenser's  sources  will 
be  found  in  the  printed  books  of  his  time.  Nevertheless,  a 
list  of  the  most  significant  manuscript  versions  of  the  His- 
toria  material  is  given  below :  — * 

therefore,  must  have  used  the  chronicle  represented  by  this  fragment, 
or  some  cognate  source  now  lost.  The  manuscript,  according  to  Sir 
Fred.  Madden,  is  in  a  hand  of  the  fifteenth  century.  It  was  quoted 
by  Selden  in  his  notes  on  Drayton's  Polyolbion. 

2  Sir  Fred.    Madden    (Introduction   to  his   edition   of   Lasamon,   p. 
vii),    says   that   the   first   mention    of    Lasamon    was    by   Archbishop 
Usher  in  Britannicarum  Eccles.  Antiquitates,  1639,  and  the  next  men- 
tion of  him  by  Nicolson,  in  the  eighteenth  century. 

3  This  is  by  no  means  a  complete  list  of  the  versions  of  the  His- 
toria    which    existed    in    manuscript    in    Spenser's    time.     For    a    full 
treatment  of  the  chronicles  which  make  use  of  this  material,  reference 
should  be  made  to  Arthurian  Material  in  the  Chronicles,  by  Robert 
Huntingdon  Fletcher,  Boston,   1906.     Chronological  tabulations  of  the 
chronicles  may  be  found  in  The  Story  of  King  Lear  from  Geoffrey 
of  Monmouth  to  Shakspere,  by  Wilfrid  Perrett,  Berlin,  1904,  in  Die 
Lear  sage  vor  Shakespeare,  by  Emil   Bode,   Halle,    1904,   and^in   Die 
Locrinesage,  by  Theodor  Erbe,  Halle,  1904.    Reference  should  also  be 
made   to   the  Descriptive   Catalogue   of  Manuscripts   Relating   to    the 
Early   History   of   Great   Britain,   ed.    Hardy,    Rolls    Series,    London, 
1862,  to  the  Catalogue  of  Romances  in  the  British  Museum,  by  H,  L. 
D.  Ward,  and  to  the  Sources  and  Literature  of  English  History  from 
the  earliest  Times  to  about  1485,  by  Charles  Gross,  1900. 

Earlier    treatments    of    the    chronicle    material    are    the    following: 


PROBABLE   SOURCES  27 

Lajamon's  Brut. 

The  Chronicle  of  "  Robert  of  Gloucester." 

The  Chronicle  of  Robert  Mannyng  of  Brunne. 

The  French  Brut,  known  as  the  large  Brut,  composed  about 
1272. 

The  English  Brut,  a  free  translation  of  the  French  Brut, 
and  the  basis  of  Caxton's  Chronicles.  It  is  often  referred  to 
as  "  the  English  Chronicle" 

William  Harrison's  Great  Chronologic.  This  extends  to 
February,  1592—3,  but  the  earlier  part  had  long  been  com- 
pleted, and  is  frequently  referred  to  in  Holinshed. 

When  we  put  the  manuscripts  to  one  side,  there  remain 
the  following  books  that  were  in  print  before  1590,  and 
may  have  been  consulted  by  Spenser : 

I.  Histories  that  in  part  cover  the  ground  of  the  Historia. 
Bede,    Historia    Ecclesiastica,    of    which,    according    to 

Hardy,4  there  had  been  nine  continental  editions  before 
1590,  although  no  edition  had  been  printed  in  England. 

Gildas,  De  Excidio  et  Conquestu  Britanniae,  printed  by 
Polydore  Vergil,  1525;  new  edition  by  John  Joscelyn  (sec- 
retary to  Archbishop  Parker)  1568. 

II.  Books  which  present  some  of  the  material  of  the 
Historia,  though  not  in  chronicle  form. 

Perceforest,  a  French  romance  which  includes  a  list  of 
the  British  kings,  Paris,  1528,  1532. 

Mirror  for  Magistrates:  the  edition  of  1571  was  the  first 
to  contain  the  heroes  and  heroines  of  Geoffrey's  story. 
These  were  Albanact,  Humber,  Locrinus,  Elstride,  Sabrine, 
Madan,  Malim,  Mempricius,  Bladud,  Cordila,  Morgan, 
Ferrex,  Porrex,  Kimarus,  Morindus,  and  Nennius.  The 
edition  of  1578  added  Guiderius,  Carassus,  Hellina,  Vor- 
tiger,  Pengragon,  and  Cadwallader.  The  additions  in  1587 
were  Jago,  Brennus,  Caesar,  and  Guiderius. 

The  English  Historical  Library,  by  William  Nicolson,  London,  1697; 
A  Manual  of  British  Historians  to  A.  D.,  j6oo,  containing  a  Chrono- 
logical Account  of  the  Early  Chroniclers  and  Monkish  Writers,  their 
Printed  Works  and  Unpublished  MSS.,  by  William  Dunn  Macray, 
London,  1845 ;  and  Early  Chroniclers  of  England,  by  James  Gairdner, 
London,  1879. 
*  Hardy,  Cat.  of  MSS.;  I,  pp.  442-443. 


28  SPENSER'S  BRITISH  CHRONICLE  HISTORY 

Itinerarium  Cambriae,  by  Giraldus  Cambrensis,  published 
by  Powel,  London,  1585. 

Camden's  Britannia,  1586. 

Albion's  England,  by  William  Warner,  1586.  .This  in- 
cludes accounts  of  Brutus,  Guendoleyne,  Mempricius 
(brief),  Leir,  Ferrex  and  Porrex,  Dunwallo,  Brenn  and 
Belyn  or  Beline  (at  length),  the  sons  of  Morindus,  the  in- 
vasion by  Caesar,  a  brief  mention  of  several  kings,  then 
accounts  of  Voada  or  Voadicia,  Constantine,  Vortiger, 
Arthur  (with  the  romance  attributes  omitted),  and  Cad- 
wallader.5 

III.  Geoffrey's  Historia,  and  the  chronicles  based  upon  it. 

Geoffrey's  Historia  Regum  Britanniae,  printed  at  Paris, 
1508  and  1517,  and  at  Heidelberg,  by  Commeline,  in  Rerum 
Britannicarum  Scriptores,  isSy.6 

Caxton,  Chronicles  of  England,  printed  by  Caxton,  1480 
and  1483,  and  by  W.  de  Worde,  1497,  1502,  1515,  1520, 
and  I528.7 

Ralph  Higden,  Polychronicon,  translated  by  Trevisa, 
printed  by  Caxton,  1482,  by  W.  de  Worde,  1495,  by  Peter 
Treveris,  1527. 

*  Jacobus  Philippus  Foresti,  Bergomensis,  Supplementum 
Cronicarum,  first  edition,  Venice,  i486.8 

Robert  Fabyan,  The  New  Chronicles  of  England  and 
France,  London,  1516,  1533,  1542,  1559. 

s  Warner  (p.  351)  acknowledges  indebtedness  to  "our  learned  and 
studious  Antiquarie  Master  Camden,  in  such  as  is  by  him  circum- 
spectly set  downe  in  his  well-meriting '  work,  intituled  Britannia : 
out  of  which  I  confesse  my  selfe  to  haue  gleaned  not  a  little  apting  to 
this  our  abridged  Historic." 

6  Bode    (Die   Lear  sage   vor   Shakespeare,   p.    140    f.)    gives    also    a 
French    translation,    1498,    and    an    English    translation,    1529.     I    have 
found  no  other  mention  of  these. 

7  For  other  editions,  see  Gross,  Sources  and  Literature  of  English 
History,  p.  272,  No.  1733. 

8  The  Latin  chroniclers  who  give  brief  summaries   of  the  Historia, 
but  seem  to  have  been  without  influence  in  England,  have  been  omitted 
from    this    list.     Foresti    is    included    because    he    appears    to   be    the 
author  quoted  by  Holinshed  and   Stow  under  the  title   "  Bergomas." 
For  these  chroniclers,  see  Fletcher,  Arthurian  Material  in  the  Chron- 
icles, pp.  239  ff. 


PROBABLE    SOURCES  2Q 

Johannes  Nauclerus,  Memorabilium  omnis  aetatis  et 
omnium  Gentium  Chronici  Comentarii,  Tubingen,  1516; 
Koln,  1579. 

Alain  Bouchart,  Les  Grandes  Croniques  de  Bretaigne, 

iS1^  I531*  J532>  i54i,  1545- 

John  Rastell,  The  Pastime  of  People,  London,  1529. 

Polydore  Vergil,  Anglicae  Historiae  Libri  XXVI,  printed 
at  Basle,  1534,  1546,  1555,  1556,  1556-7,  \S7^  ^ 

Ponticus  Virunnius,  Britannicae  Historiae  Libri  sex,  at 
Augsburg,  1534;  by  Powel,  1585;  by  Commeline,  1587. 
This  is  an  abridgment  of  the  first  six  books  of  Geoffrey. 

John  Hardyng,  Chronicle,  two  editions  printed  by  R. 
Graf  ton,  London,  1543. 

Wace's  Brut,  Paris,  1543,  1584. 

*  Arthur    Kelton,    A    Chronycle    with    a    Genealogie 
.     .     .     Newly  compyled  in  Metre,  printed  by  Grafton, 
London,  1547. 

Thomas  Cooper,  Epitome  of  Chronicles,  earlier  part  by 
Thomas  Lanquet, " London,  1549,  1554,  1559,  1560,  1565, 
1569. 

*  Gyles  Godet,  Chronicle,  London,  1560.° 

Richard  Grafton,  Abridgment  of  the  Chronicles  of  Eng- 
land, 1562,  1563,  1564,  1570,  I572.10 

John   Stow,   Summarie   of  Englyshe   Chronicles,    1565, 

1567,  1570,  1573,  1575,  1579,  1584,  1587- 
Richard  Grafton,  Manuel!  of  the  Chronicles  of  England, 

1565- 
Flores  Historiarum,  Matthew  of  Westminster,  London, 

1567,  1570;  Matthew  Paris,  1571. 
Richard  Grafton,  Chronicle  at  Large,  London,  1569. 

*  Humphrey  Llwyd,  Comentarioli  Descriptionis  Britan- 
nicae   Fragmentum,    1572;    translated    into    English    by 

9  Only   two   copies   are  known   to   exist,   one   in   the   collection   of 
Earl   Spencer,   the  other  in  that   of  Thomas   Grenyille.     See  Mirror 
for  Magistrates,  ed.     Haslewood.  Introduction,  pp.  vii-x. 

10  The  editions  vary  in   details.     See   Fletcher,  Arthurian  Material 
in  the  Chronicles,  p.  264. 


30  SPENSER  S   BRITISH    CHRONICLE    HISTORY 

Thomas  Twyne,  and  published  under  the  title  The  Breuiary 
of  Britayne,  I573-11 

Raphael  Holinshed,  The  Chronicles  of  Englande,  Scot- 
lande,  and  Ireland,  1577;  revised  edition,  1587. 

David  Chambers,  Histoire  dbregee,  Paris,  1579. 

John  Stow,  The  Chronicles  of  England,  London,  1580; 
under  the  title,  The  Annales  of  England,  London,  1584. 

The  chronicles  that  are  marked  in  the  list  above  with  an 
asterisk  have  been  inaccessible,  but  all  the  others  have  been 
examined  as  possible  sources  for  Spenser's  chronicle  his- 
tory.12 

11  The  asterisk  applies  only  to  the  Latin  version. 

12  Five  of  these  chronicles  I  have  not  seen  myself.     My  thanks  are 
due  to  Miss  Rose  Jeffries  Peebles  for  her  examination  of  the   copy 
of  Nauclerus  in  the  Peabody  Library,  Baltimore,  and  to  Miss  Beulah 
Marie  Dix  for  a  study  of  Cooper's  Epitome,  1547,  Grafton's  Abridg- 
ment, 1572,  Stow's  Summarie,  1567,  and  Twyne's  Breuiary  of  Britayne, 
1572,  all  in  the  British  Museum. 


IV 

THE  METHOD  OF  THE  PRESENT  INVESTI- 
'  CATION 

In  Spenser's  time  Geoffrey's  Historia  was  recognized  as 
the  chief  source  of  the  British  chronicle.  Stow,  for  in- 
stance, writes,  "  I  hope  it  shall  be  sufficient  in  this  History 
for  the  Britaines  time,  to  follow  the  authority  of  the  re- 
ceiued  British  History,  which  Geoffrey,  Archdeacon  of 
Monmouth,  translated  out  of  the  British  toung  about  400. 
yeeres  since,  beginning  with  Brute.  .  .  ."  *  Even 
the  controversy  as  to  the  authenticity  of  Geoffrey's  history 
which  raged  after  the  time  of  Polydore  Vergil  served  only 
to  make  the  name  of  Geoffrey  better  known.  Therefore, 
as  the  Historia  existed  both  in  printed  form  and  in  many 
manuscripts,2  there  is  a  strong  antecedent  probability  that 
Spenser  was  familiar  with  it. 

This  probability  receives  strong  confirmation  from  an  ex- 
amination of  the  material  before  us.  Although  the  chron- 
icles repeated  the  facts  in  Geoffrey's  Historia,  few  repro- 
duced the  continuous  narrative  as  a  whole.  Such  books  as 
the  Poly  chronic  on,  the  Memorabilium  of  Nauclerus,  the 
Flores  Historiarum,  the  Epitome  of  Lanquet  and  Cooper, 
and  the  Histoire  abregee  of  Chambers  break  the  story  into 
fragments  and  scatter  these  fragments  at  considerable  inter- 
vals in  the  midst  of  other  material.  Furthermore,  they 
often  strip  Geoffrey's  story  to  a  bare  outline.  To  piece  to- 
gether a  coherent,  flesh-and-blood  narrative  from  these  f rag- 

1  Stow,  Annales,  ed.  Howes,  1631,  p.  6. 

2  For  lists  of  the  MSS.   of  the  Historia,  see  Hardy's  Descriptive 
Catalogue,  I,  pp.  341-350,  and  Ward's  Catalogue  of  Romances,  I,  pp. 
220-250. 

31 


32  SPENSER'S  BRITISH  CHRONICLE  HISTORY 

ments  and  so  build  up  a  new  Geoffrey  would  be  almost 
impossible.  Equally  difficult  would  it  be  to  restore 
Geoffrey's  narrative  from  the  form  in  which  it  appears  in 
Hardyng,  Fabyan,  Grafton,  Holinshed,  and  Stow,  for  in 
these  authors  the  desire  for  historical  accuracy  has  led  to 
corrections  and  additions  from  Roman  and  Anglo-Saxon 
accounts,  together  with  long  arguments  about  the  conflict- 
ing stories.  Not  even  Caxton,  who  reproduces  the  English 
Brut,  holds  strictly  to  the  original,  for  beside  having  sur- 
prising variations  in  proper  names,  and  omissions,  such  as 
the  omission  of  the  four  kings  after  Rivallo,  his  version 
gives  the  inserted  story  of  Argentil  and  Curan,  and  thus 
changes  the  course  of  the  narrative  to  such  an  extent  that 
the  Geoffrey  story  could  not  be  reproduced  from  it.  Spen- 
ser's narrative,  on  the  contrary,  follows  Geoffrey's,  reign 
by  reign,  with  only  three  variations, —  the  omission  of 
Arthur's  reign  because  of  the  plot  of  the  Faerie  Queene, 
the  omission  of  Guiderius,  which  resulted  in  fusing  his  reign 
with  Kimbeline's,  and  the  addition  of  the  story  of  Bon- 
duca,  which  is  neatly  inserted  in  the  most  convenient  place, 
without  regard  to  other  chronicles  which  also  give  the  story 
of  Bonduca.3  Spenser  shows  a  knowledge  of  the  Historia 
material  as  a  whole,4  and  notwithstanding  his  alteration  of 
details,  he  has  reproduced  the  outlines  of  the  narrative  with 
accuracy.  This  in  itself  creates  a  strong  presumption  in 
favor  of  Geoffrey  as  one  of  Spenser's  sources. 

A  glance  at  the  proper  names  that  Spenser  uses  brings 
us  again  to  the  same  conclusion.  The  names  which  ap- 
peared in  Geoffrey's  Latin  suffered  many  changes.  English 
forms  were  substituted.  Mis-spelling,  mis-reading,  mis- 
pronunciation, deliberate  distortion  for  the  sake  of  accent 
or  rhyme  in  verse,  and  confusion  with  other  stories,  all 

3  See  pp.  115-120,  below. 

*  It  should  be  noted  here  that  the  Historia  is  the  ultimate  or 
partial  source  of  some  of  Spenser's  material  which  is  not  strictly 
speaking  British  Chronicle  History,  and  which  has  therefore  been 
omitted  in  this  dissertation.  Such  is  Spenser's  account  of  Merlin 
(F.  Q.,  Ill,  3,  7-13),  and  his  imitation  of  Merlin's  prophecies  (F.  Q., 
Ill,  3,  47-49). 


METHOD  33 

added  to  the  variety  of  nomenclature.  In  Caxton's  Chron- 
icle Raynolde  has  replaced  Rivallo,  Hesider  stands  for 
Elidure,  and  Marius  has  become  Westmer.  Hardyng's 
Chronicle  shows  similar  changes.  The  later  chroniclers, 
such  as  Grafton,  Stow,  and  Holinshed,  retain  these  varia- 
tions, but  place  side  by  side  with  them  the  forms  in 
Geoffrey,  and  use  either  indifferently  throughout  the  narra- 
tive. From  Caxton  and  Hardyng  it  would  be  impossible 
to  reproduce  the  names  of  the  British  kings  in  Geoffrey, 
and  it  is  improbable  that  anyone  could  pick  and  choose 
among  the  various  forms  in  the  later  English  chronicles  so 
as  to  get  together  a  majority  of  Geoffrey's  names.  From 
the  Latin  world-chronicles  such  as  the  Poly  chronic  on  it 
would  be  more  possible  to  do  this  so  far  as  the  forms  of 
the  names  are  concerned,  but  the  fact  that  they  are  scat- 
tered so  far  apart  brings  in  a  new  difficulty,  and  makes  the 
reproduction  of  a  long  list  of  them  improbable  from  this 
source  too.  Now  Spenser's  names,  to  a  considerable  ex- 
tent, either  reproduce  Geoffrey's  form  exactly  or  give  a 
natural  English  form,  stripped  of  the  Latin  ending.5  Oc- 

5  I  append  a  list  of  the  proper  nouns  in  Spenser,  with  their  equiva- 
lents in  the  two  early  printed  editions  of  Geoffrey's  Historic,,  1508 
and  1517,  and  in  the  San  Marte  edition.  A  glance  will  show  that  in 
general  they  correspond.  The  forms  that  are  used  by  the  later  chron- 
iclers v  will  appear  in  the  discussion,  pp.  38  ff.,  below. 

Snenser  G"    of   M"  G"    of    M"  G"   °f   M" 

Paris,  1508.       Paris,  1517.  San  Marte  ed. 

Albion    albion    Albion    Albion 

Brutus   Brutus   Brutw^    Brutus 

Goe'mot    goemagot    Goemagot  Goemagot 

Corineus   Corineus   Corineus   Corineus 

Inogene  Ignogen Ignogen    Ignogen 

Locrine    Locrinus    Locrinus    Locrinus 

Albanact   Albanactw^   Albanactw.y  Albanactus 

Camber    Kamber  Kamber  Kamber 

Albania   albania Albania    Albania 

Severne  sabrinu  flumen   .  Sabrinum  flumen  Sabrinum  flumen 

Logris    loegria   Loegria    Loegria 

Humber huber   Huber    Humber 

Estrild  estrildis   Estrildis    Estrildis 

Guendolene    ....  guedoloena  Guendoloena    . . .  Guendoloena 

Sabrina   habren    and    Sa-  Habren   and  Sa-  Sabren     and     Sa- 

brina brina    brina 

Madan  .  . .  madan   Madan    Maddan 


34  SPENSER'S  BRITISH  CHRONICLE  HISTORY 

casionally  such  a  name  as  Leill  shows  the  influence  of  later 
chroniclers.  But  sometimes  Spenser  uses  a  form  which 
he  could  scarcely  have  found  except  in  Geoffrey.  He  is, 
for  instance,  close  to  Geoffrey's  Goemagot  with  his  Goemot 

onA  G.  of  M.,  G.  of  M.,  G.  of  M., 

Paris,  1508.  Paris,  1517.  San  Marte  ed. 

Memprise   Menpcius    Menpcius    Mempricius 

Manild    manlio   Manlio Malim 

Ebranck    ebrancus    Ebrancus    Ebraucus 

Leill   Leir    Leir    Leir 

Cairleill  Kaerleir    Kaerleir    Kaerleir 

Huddibras    hurdibras    Hurdibras Hudibras 

Bladud  Baldudus    Baldudus    Bladud 

Cairbadon    Kaerbadum    ....  Kaerbadum    ....  Kaerbadus 

Leyf Leir    Leir    Leir 

Gonorill    genorilla    Genorilla Gonorilla 

Regan    regana  Ragana    Regan 

Cordein    [".".!'. cordeilla    Cordeilla  Cordeilla 

Aggannip    Aganippus    Aganippus    Aganippus 

Maglan    maglaun-// ^    MaglaunM.y     ....  Maglaunus 

Morgan  margan«j    Marganu Marganus 

Cundah    cunedagius   Cunedagiu    Cunedagius 

Rivall'    riuallo    Riuallo    Rivallo 

Gurgustus gurgustius    Gurgustius   Gurgustius 

Caecily    sisillius    Sisilliws  Sisillius 

Lago    iago    Lago    Lago 

Kinmarke   Kinimacw^    Kinimacw ^    Kinmarcus 

Gorbogud   gorbodug Gorbodug   Gorbodug 

Ferrex    f errex Ferrex    Ferrex 

Porrex porrex   Porrex    Porrex 

Wyden Wide    Wide    Widen 

Ymner  pireme   Pirane    Ymner 

Ruddoc   rudaucus  Rudaucus    Rudaucus 

Stater    staterius    Staterius   Staterius 

Donwallo    duuallo    Duuallo  Dunvallo 

Brennus    brenius  Brenus    Brennius 

Belinus    belinus  Belinus    Belinus 

Gurgiunt gurguitus    Gurguintus Gurgiunt 

Guitheline guinthelinus Guinthelinus    . . .  Guithelinus 

Mertia  martia    Martia  Martia 

Sisillus sisillius    Sisillius  Sisilius 

Kimarus    Kimarus    Kimarus    Kimarus 

Danius elaniw^     Elaniws    Danius 

Morindus    moridus Moridus    Morvidus 

Morands   morianorum          Maurorum  Moranorum 

(gen.  case)  (gen.  case)  (gen.  case) 

Gorbpman    gorbonianM.s     . . .  Gorbonianw.?    . . .  Gorbonianus 

Archigald   archigallo    Archigallo    Arthgallo 

Elidure    elidurus  Elidurus    Elidurus 

Vigent  vigenius Vigenius   Vigenius 

Peridure   peredurus   Peredurus    Peredurus 


METHOD  35 

(F.  Q.,  II,  10,  10),  and  later  gives  Geoffrey's  form  ex- 
actly (F.  Q.,  Ill,  9,  50).  So,  too,  he  agrees  with  Geoffrey 
in  the  name  Hudibras,  which,  in  every  other  source  that  I 
have  seen,  appears  as  Rudhudibras,  or  Rudibras  (Polydore 

Sne  G.  of  M.,  G.  of  M.,  G.  of  M., 

Paris,  1508.  Paris,  1517.          San  Marte  ed. 

Hely    hely    Hely    Hely 

Lud    lud    Lud    Lud 

Cassibalane    cassibellanum    . .  Cassibellanu Cassibellaunus 

Nennius neurium    Neurium  Nennius 

Androgeus   androgeus Androgeus   Androgeus 

Tenantius   tenacius    Tenacius   Tenuantius 

Kimbeline  Kymbellinw^    . . .  Kymbellinus Kymbelinus 

Claudius    claudius Claudius    Claudius 

Arvirage  aruiragus    Aruiragus Arviragus 

Genuissa   gennissa Gennissa  Genuissa 

Marius    marius   Marius    Marius 

Coyll    coillus    Coillus    Coillus 

Lucius    lucius  Lucius   Lucius 

Fulgent   fulgenius Fulgenius    Fulgenius 

Severus   seuerus    Seuerus  Severus 

Carausius    carassius   Carassiwj    Carausius 

Allectus alectu  Alectu    Allectus 

Asclepiodate    . . .  asclepiodotus   . . .  Asclepiodotwj    . .  Asclepiodotus 

Coylchester    colcestrise    Colcestrae    Colecestrise 

Coyll    coel Coel    Coel 

Constantius    ....  constantinus Costatinus    Constantius 

Helena  Helena    Helena    Helena 

Constantine    ....  costatinus   Costatinus    Constantinus 

Traherne traheru    Traheru    Trahern 

Octayius    Octavius    Octauiw^   Octayius 

Maximian maximianus   Maximianus Maximianus 

Gratian    Gratianus    Gratianus    Gratianus 

Vortigere,  Vorti- 

ger    vortegirnus    Vortegirnus   Vortegirnus 

Aurelius  aurelius     ambro-Aurelius  Ambro- Aurelius     Ambro- 

Ambrose    ....      sius  sius sius 

Uther    Pendrag- 

on   vtherpendragon  .  Vtherpendragon .  Utherpendragon 

Horsus    horsw^   Horsw^    Horsus 

Hengist  hegistw^  Hegistw^   Hengistus 

Vortimere    vortunerus    Vortunerus Vortimerus 

Stoneheng,  Ston- 

heng stranheng   Stranheng Stanheng 

Cador    cadorem^ Cadorem  Cadorem 

Vortipore   vortiporius   Vortiporius    Wortiporius 

Malgo    malgo Malgo    Malgo 

Careticus  catericw^    Catericus Careticus 

Gormond    godmundu Godmudu    Gormundus 

Etheldred   edelfridus   Edelfridus    Ethelfridus 

Augustine Augustinus    Augustinus    Augustinus 

Brockwell  broemael  Broemael    Brocmail 

Cadwan    Caduanus   Caduanus Caduanus 


36  SPENSER'S  BRITISH  CHRONICLE  HISTORY 

Vergil)  or,  as  in  Holinshed,  Lud  or  Ludhurdibras.  The 
evidence  of  the  names,  then,  goes  to  prove  that  Spenser  used 
Geoffrey  as  a  source. 

For  the  three  reasons  given  above  —  i.  e.  the  antecedent 
probability  that  Spenser  knew  the  "  receiued  British  his- 
tory "  of  his  time,  the  coincidence  in  the  general  outlines  of 
the  two  chronicles,  and  the  similarity  of  a  large  propor- 
tion of  the  proper  names  —  it  will  be  assumed  in  the  fol- 
lowing analysis  that  the  basis  of  Spenser's  chronicle  is 
Geoffrey's  Historia.  When  Spenser's  chronicle  agrees  with 
the  Historia,  there  will  be  no  need  to  seek  further  for  his 
source,  even  though  the  same  story  is  to  be  found  in  many 
or  all  of  the  other  versions. 

Next  to  Geoffrey  the  most  probable  source  of  Spenser's 
chronicle  is  Holinshed's  great  work,  the  most  pretentious, 
the  largest,  and,  except  for  Stow's,  the  latest  of  all  the 
chronicles,  and,  moreover,  a  book  with  which  Spenser  was 
certainly  familiar.6  When  Spenser  differs  from  Geoffrey 

Spenser.  G.  of  M.,  G.  of  M,  G.  of  M, 

Paris,  1508.  Paris,  1517.         San  Marte  ed. 

Cadwallin    caduallo    Caduallo   Cadwallo 

Pellite    pellitw^    Pellitus    Pellitus 

Edwin    eduinus    Eduinus    Edwinus 

Oswald    Oswalds  Oswaldus    Oswaldus 

Oswin    osun   Osunwj    Oswius 

Penda    peanda    Peada    Peanda 

Offricke    offridus    Offridus    Offridus 

Osricke    offrido    offrido   Osricus 

Cadwallader    . . .  cadualladrus Cadualladrus  . . .  Cadwalladrus 

Octa  octa    Octa  Octa 

Oza cosa    Cosa  Eosa 

The  above  list  makes  it  seem  probable  that  Spenser  was  using  a 
manuscript  copy  of  Geoffrey.  Many  of  the  names  reproduce,  not  the 
form  of  the  early  editions,  but  that  which  appears  in  the  San  Marte 
edition.  See,  for  instance,  Memprise,  H'uddibras,  Bladud,  Gonorilla,  Re- 
gan, Kinmarke,  Ymner,  Gurgiunt,  Guitheline,  Danius,  Nennius,  Genuissa, 
Carausius,  Constantius,  Traherne,  Vortimere,  Careticus,  and  Gormond. 
The  names  Ymner,  Danius,  Nennius,  Vortimere,  and  Careticus  show 
an  especially  marked  variation  from  the  early  editions.  On  the  other 
hand,  Madan,  Manlio,  Ebranck,  Morindus,  and  Archgald  resemble  the 
forms  which  are  found  in  the  early  editions  and  not  those  in  the 
San  Marte  edition,  and  Brennus  and  Tenantius  coincide  with  the 
form  of  these  names  found  in  the  1517  edition. 

6  See  p.  10  and  pp.  12-15,  above. 


METHOD  37 

and  in  so  doing  repeats  information  which  Holinshed  gives, 
it  is  a  natural  inference  that  Holinshed  is  his  source.  In 
the  following  pages,  therefore,  Spenser's  story  has  first  been 
compared  with  Geoffrey's  and  next  with  Holinshed's. 
Whatever  remains  unaccounted  for  has  then  been  traced, 
so  far  as  possible,  to  other  sources.  At  the  same  time  an 
effort  has  been  made  to  note  any  verbal  coincidences  that 
might  help  to  fix  Spenser's  source.  When  some  version 
other  than  Geoffrey's  or  Holinshed's  seems  manifestly  to  be 
Spenser's  source,  that  version  has  been  placed  next  after 
Holinshed's.  Other  material  that  for  any  reason  seems  im- 
portant follows  in  chronological  order. 

The  quotations  from  Holinshed  are  drawn  from  the  first 
edition,  with  which  Spenser  was  certainly  acquainted.7 
But  as  the  description  of  the  rivers  of  Great  Britain 8  indi- 
cates Spenser's  knowledge  of  the  second  edition  also,  I  have 
compared  the  second  edition  with  the  first,  and  noted  the 
few  variations  that  seem  significant. 

Similarities  of  phrase  are  marked  by  a  correspondence 
in  the  type  used.  If  a  passage  in  Spenser  seems  to  repro- 
duce a  passage  in  Geoffrey,  both  are  printed  in  italics.  If  it 
reproduces  a  passage  in  Holinshed,  both  passages  are  printed 
in  small  Roman  capitals.  If  it  is  like  a  passage  in  any  other 
possible  source,  black  face  type  has  been  used. 

T  See  Spenser's  letter  to  Harvey,  Spenser,  Globe  ed.,  p.  709.  See 
also  Appendix,  p.  187,  below,  for  a  discussion  of  the  possibility  that 
Spenser's  chronicle  was  composed  at  a  comparatively  early  date  as 
a  separate  poem,  and  afterwards  incorporated  with  the  Faerie  Queene. 

8  F.  Q.,  IV,  ii.     See  pp.  15-19,  above. 


A  COMPARISON  OF  SPENSER'S  CHRONICLE 
WITH  ITS  POSSIBLE  SOURCES 

A.  BOOK  II,  CANTO  10. 

The  agreement  between  the  general  outline  of  Spenser's 
chronicle  and  that  of  the  Historia  does  not  begin  until  the 
account  of  the  arrival  of  Brutus,  stanza  nine.  The  previous 
stanzas  (5—8)  are  based  rather  on  passages  in  the  later 
chronicles,  and  are  substituted  for  Geoffrey's  chapter  on 
the  geography  of  Britain  (I,  2).  The  early  adventures  of 
Brutus  (Geoffrey  I,  3-15),  are  omitted  from  Spenser's 
chronicle,  but  appear  later  in  the  Faerie  Queene  in  Paridell's 
speech  to  Britomart  (III,  9,  48-51).  Spenser  preferred  in 
the  chronicle  proper  to  make  direct  transition,  first  from 
the  island  to  the  giants  that  inhabited  it,  and  second  from 
the  giants  to  the  coming  of  their  conquerors,  Brutus  and 
his  men.  He  thus  avoided  shifting  the  scene  of  his  narra- 
tive from  the  island. 


5.  The  land  which  warlike  Britons  now  possesse, 

And  therein  have  their  mighty  empire  raysd, 

In  antique  times  was  salvage  wildernesse, 

Unpeopled,  unmannurd,  unprovd,  unpraysd; 

Ne  was  it  Island  then,  ne  was  it  paysd 

Amid  the  ocean  waves,  ne  was  it  sought 

Of  merchants  farre  for  profits  therein  praysd; 

But  was  all  desolate,  and  of  some  thought 

By  sea  to  have  bene  from  the  celticke  maynland  brought. 

38 


COMPARISON  39 

Hol,  Hist.,  p.  i. 

" .  .  .  it  semeth  by  the  report  of  Dominicus  Marius 
Niger  y*  in  the  beginning,  whew  God  framed  the  worlde,  and 
diuided  the  waters  aparte  from  the  earth,  this  Isle  was  then 
a  parcel  of  the  continent,  &  ioyned  without  any  separation 
of  sea  to  the  mayne  lande." 

Camd.,  Brit.,  ed.  1590,  p.  i. 

"  Inter  Cantium  enim,  &  Caletum  Galliae,  ita  in  altum 
se  euehit,  &  adeo  in  arctum  mare  agitur,  ut  perfossas  ibi 
terras  antea  exclusa  admisisse  maria  opinentur  nonnulli, 
opinionisque  suae  assertores  adferunt  Virgilium  in  illo 
versu, 

'  Et  penitus  toto   diuisos  orbe  Britannos:' 
Quia,  inquit  Servius  Honoratus,  olim  juncta  erat  continents 
Britannia/' 

This  stanza  is  little  more  than  an  expansion  of  one  of 
Holinshed's  opening  sentences,  although  the  phrasing  of 
the  last  two  lines  seems  to  show  also  the  influence  of  Cam- 
den. 


6.  Ne  did  it  then  deserve  a  name  to  have, 
Till  that  the  venturous  Mariner  that  way 
Learning  his  ship  from  those  white  rocks  to  save, 
Which  all  along  the  southerne  sea-coast  lay 
Threatning  unheedy  wrecke  and  rash  decay, 
For  safety  that  same  his  sea-marke  made, 
And  namd  it  ALBION  :  But  later  day, 
Finding  in  it  fit  ports  for  fishers  trade, 
Gan  more  the  same  frequent,  and  further  to  invade. 

G.  of  M.,  I,  1-6,  /.  i,  p.  1 8. 

"  Erat  tune  nomen  insulae  Albion     ..." 

Hoi.,  Hist.,  p.  6.     The  giant  Albion,  son  of  Neptune, 
was  chief  ruler  of  the  island,  which  took  its  name  from  him : 


4o  SPENSER'S  BRITISH  CHRONICLE  HISTORY 

".  .  .  yet  there  be  dyuers  opinyons  how  it  came  by 
that  name :  for  many  doe  not  allow  of  this  historic  of  Albion 
the  Giaunte."  A  marginal  note  says,  "  Diuers  opinions  why 
thys  He  was  called  Albion.  See  more  hereof  in  the  descrip- 
tion." 

Descr.  of  Br.,  p.  i  b.  The  story  of  the  giant  Albion  is 
told  at  length. 

Ed.  1587,  Vol.  I,  Descr.  of  Br.,  ch.  3,  p.  3.  In  a  passage 
inserted  before  the  story  of  Albion  it  is  said  that  Goropius 

"  is  brought  into  great  doubt,  whether  Britaine  was  called 
Albion  of  the  word  Alb,  white;  or  Alp,  an  hill;  as  Bodinus 
is  no  less  troubled  with  fetching  the  same  ab  Olbijs,  or  as  he 
wresteth  it,  ab  Albijs  gallis." 

Hardyng,  ch.  6,  p.  30. 

"  But  Bartholomew  de  proprietatibus  rerum, 

Sayth  howe  this  ysle  of  Albion  had  name 

Of  the  see  bankes  full  whyte,  all  or  sum, 

That  circuyte  the  ysle;  as  shyppes  came, 

Fro  ferrome  sene,  as  thei,  through  the  see  fame, 

Sailed  by  &  by,  for  rypes  and  roches  whyte 

To  shipmen  were  greate  gladnesse  and  delyte. 

"But  Maryan  saith,  the   [chronicler  to  sewe], 

That  dame  Albion  was  the  first  that  named  it  so. 

Both  two  might  be  together   [clere  and  trewe,]"  etc. 

Bartholomew,  De  Proprietatibus  Rerum,  Bk.  15,  ch.  14. 

"  Englonde  is  the  moost  ylonde  of  Occean  &  is  biclypped  al 
aboute  w*  the  see  &  departyd  fro  the  roundnesse  of  the 
world  &  hyghte  som  tyme  Albion.  And  hadde  that  name  of 
whyte  roches  whyche  were  seen  on  the  see  clyves  .  .  ." 

Caxton,  Descr.  of  Br.,  cH.  3. 

"Othir  saye  that  this  lond  was  named  Albion  as  it  where 
the  white  londe  of  white  rockes  aboute  the  cliues  of  the  sea 
that  were  seyne  fro  ferre." 


COMPARISON  41 


Fabyan,  p.  7. 


"  The  whiche  so  toke  firste  name,  as  wytnessyth  Strabo  and 
other  wryters,  of  the  whyte  Clyves  or  Rockes  that  stande 
vpon  the  sees  syde,  and  are  ferre  seen  in  clere  wether  and 
bryght  dayes,  wherof  it  was  of  olde  wryters  named  Albyon, 
as  it  were  the  whyte  Lande  .  .  ." 

Graf  ton,  p.  25. 

"  Another  opinion  is  (which  hath  a  more  honest  similitude) 
that  it  was  named  Albion,  ab  Albis  rupibus,  that  is,  of 
white  rockes,  because  that  vnto  them  that  come  by  sea 
from  the  east  or  south,  the  bankes  and  rockes  of  this  isle 
do  apere  white." 

Grafton,  however,  does  not  himself  accept  this  derivation. 

Spenser  could  have  taken  from  Geoffrey,  in  this  passage, 
only  the  name  Albion,  but  he  could  have  found  elsewhere, 
in  many  places,  the  statement  that  this  name  was  given  to 
the  island  because  ^of  the  white  rocks  on  the  sea-shore.  In 
Holinshed,  however,  a  different  story  is  told  to  account  for 
the  name,  and  only  in  the  second  edition  is  even  a  passing 
reference  made  to  the  derivation  of  Albion  from'  alb,  white. 
Among  the  authorities  in  which  Spenser's  story  appears  is 
Grafton,  who  restricts  these  rocks  to  the  Eastern  and  South- 
ern shores,  and  suggests  also  the  point  of  view  of  "  them 
that  come  by  Sea."  This  thought  is  even  more  fully  ex- 
pressed by  Hardyng,  who  says  that  the  white  banks  are 
seen  from  afar  as  the  ships  come  sailing  by,  and  the  ship- 
men  find  in  them  "  greate  gladnesse  and  delyte."  .  From 
this  may  easily  have  developed  Spenser's  idea  that  the 
"  white  rocks  "  served  as  a  sea-mark  which  guided  the  mar- 
iner to  safety.  Such  service  would  account  for  their  being 
"  gladnesse  and  delyte."  Grafton  and  Hardyng,  confirm- 
ing each  other,  may  both  have  influenced  Spenser,  though 
the  influence  of  Grafton  would  have  been  in  itself  slight. 
Hardyng,  indeed,  may  conceivably  have  been  the  sole  source 
of  the  material  in  Spenser's  stanza. 


42  SPENSER'S  BRITISH  CHRONICLE  HISTORY 

Beside  the  source  of  the  material  there  is,  as  regards  this 
stanza,  another  consideration.  The  derivation  that  Spen- 
ser gives  is  in  most  chronicles  only  one  of  several  possible 
derivations.  In  stating  it  authoritatively  and  alone  Spenser 
is  at  variance  with  Graf  ton,  who  mentions  it  only  to  reject 
it,  and  from  Hardyng,  who  adds  the  story  of  Dame  Albion 
and,  unable  to  give  up  either,  suggests  that  "  both  two  might 
be  together."  He  is  in  accordance,  however,  with  the  older 
authorites,  such  as  Bartholomew  and  Caxton.  Whether  he 
was  intentionally  reverting  to  them,  or  merely  rejecting  the 
other  derivations  as  improbable  or  inartistic,  it  is  impossible 
to  decide. 

We  may  conclude  that  Spenser  used  neither  Geoffrey  nor 
Holinshed  as  a  source  for  this  stanza,  but  drew  from  Graf- 
ton  and  Hardyng,  or  from  Hardyng  alone,  and  was  either 
independent  in  handling  the  material  he  borrowed,  or  was 
further  influenced  by  still  older  authorities,  such  as  Bar- 
tholomew and  Caxton. 


7.  But  far  in  land  a  salvage  nation  dwelt 

Of  hideous  Giaunts,  and  HALFE  BEASTLY  MEN, 

THAT  NEVER  TASTED  GRACE,  NOR  GOODNES  FELT; 

But  wild  like  beastes  lurking  in  loathsome  den, 

And  flying  fast  as  Roebucke  through  the  fen, 

All  naked  without  shame  or  care  of  cold, 

By  hunting  and  by  spoiling  liveden; 

Of  stature  huge,  and  eke  of  corage  bold, 

That  sonnes  of  men  amazd  their  sternnesse  to  behold. 

G.  of  M.,  I,  ch.  n,  //.  75-76,  p.  13. 

"  Insula  in  Oceano  est  habitata  Gygantibus  olim, 
Nunc  deserta  quidem:  gentibus  apta  tuis." 

/,  ch.  16,  /.  i  f.,  p.  18. 

"  Erat  tune  nomen  insulae  Albion,  quae  a  nemine,  exceptis 
paucis  gygantibus,  inhabitabatur     .     .     ." 


COMPARISON  43 

HoL,  Hist.,  p.  5  /. 

"  This  Albion  (that  thus  chaunged  the  name  of  this  Isle) 
and  his  companie,  are  called  Gyants,  which  signifieth  none 
other  than  a  tall  kind  of  men,  of  that  uncorrupte  stature  and 
highnesse  naturally  incident  to  the  first  age  (which  Berosus 
also  seemeth  to  allow,  where  he  writeth,  that  Noe  was  one  of 
the  Gyantes:  and  were  not  so  called  only  of  their  monstrous 
greatnesse,  as  the  common  people  thinke  (although  in  deede 
they  exceeded  the  vsuall  stature  of  men  nowe  in  these  dayes, 
(but  also  for  yt  they  tooke  their  name  of  the  soyle  where  they 
were  born ;  for  Gigantes  signifieth  THE  SONS  OF  THE  EARTH  : 
the  Aborigines  (or  as  Cesar  calleth  them  Indiginae,)  that  is, 

BORNE  AND  BRED  OUT  OF  THE  EARTH   WHERE  THEY  INHABITED 

.  .  .  When  Albion  chiefe  Capitayn  of  the  Gyants  was 
slayn,  the  residue  that  remayned  at  home  in  the  Isle,  con- 
tinued without  any  rule  or  restraint  of  lawe,  in  so  muche 

that  THEY  FELL  TO  SUCH  A  DISSOLUTE  ORDER  OF  LYFE,  THAT 
THEY  SEEMED  LITTLE  OR  NOTHING  TO  DIFFER  FROM  BRUTE 

BEASTES  :  and  those  are  they  which  our  auncient  Chronicles 
call  the  Giants  .  .  .  (sithens  as  before  is  sayd,  that  age 

brought    foorth    far    greater    men    than    are    now    liuing) 

» 

p.  9.  "  Hitherto  haue  wee  spoken  of  them  that  inhabited  this 
land  before  the  commyng  of  Brute,  although  some  will  needs 
haue  it,  that  he  was  the  firste  which  inhabited  y*  same  with 
his  people,  descended  of  the  Troyans,  some  few  Giaunts  onely 
excepted  whome  hee  utterly  destroyed,  and  lefte  not  one 
of  them  alyue  through  the  whole  Isle." 

Camd.f  Brit.,  p.  115. 

"  Vnde  Poeta  quidam  satis  antiquus,  cum  Gigantes  quosdam 
Britannicos  describeret,  sic  lusit  de  Britannia  loquens 

Titanibus  ilia 

Sed  paucis  famulosa  domus,  quibus  vda  ferarum 
Terga  dabant  vestes,  cruor  haustus,  pocula  trunci, 
Antra  lares,  dumeta  thoros,  coenacula  rupes, 
Praeda  cibos,  raptus  Venerem,  spectacula  caedes, 
Imperium  vires,  animos  furor,  impetus  arma, 
Mortem  pugna,  sepulchra  rubus,  monstrisqw^  gemebat 
Monticolis  tellus,  sed  eorum  plurima  tractus 
Pars  erat  occidui,  terror  majorque  premebat 
Te  furor,  extremum  Zephyri  Cornubia  limen." 


44  SPENSER'S  BRITISH  CHRONICLE  HISTORY 

Geoffrey's  statement  that  the  island  of  Albion  was  in- 
habited by  giants  was  quickly  elaborated l  and  Spenser  fol- 
lowed the  later  accounts.  In  describing  the  giants  as 

"  half  beastly  men 
That  never  tasted  grace,  nor  goodnes  felt," 

he  apparently  took  a  hint  from  Holinshed,  who  says  that 
"  they  seemed  little  or  nothing  to  differ  from  brute  beastes,' 
but  the  rest  of  the  stanza,  which  compares  the  giants  to 
beasts  for  another  reason,  namely,  the  wildness  of  their 
lives,  seems  to  have  been  suggested  rather  by  the  Latin 
verses  which  Camden  quotes.  Although  Spenser's  giants 
differ  from  those  of  the  Latin  verses  in  going  naked,  in- 
stead of  wearing  clothes  of  skin,  like  them  they  dwell  in 
caves  and  live  by  hunting.  Spenser's  description  of  the 
giants  seems,  therefore,  to  have  been  based  on  Holinshed, 
and  on  the  Latin  verses  quoted  by  Camden,  which  Spenser 
may  have  known  in  their  original  form,  or  only  through 
Camden. 


8.  But  whence  they  sprong,  or  how  they  were  begott, 
Uneath  is  to  assure;  uneath  to  wene 

That  monstrous  error,  which  doth  some  assott, 
That  Dioclesians  fifty  daughters  shene 

INTO  THIS  LAND  BY  CHAUNCE  HAVE  DRIVEN  BENE; 

Where,  companing  with  feends  and  filthy  Sprights 
Through  vaine  illusion  of  their  lust  unclene, 
They  brought  forth  Geaunts,  and  such  dreadful  wights 
As  far  exceeded  men  in  their  immeasurd  mights. 

9.  They  held  this  land,  and  with  their  filthinesse 
Polluted  this  same  gentle  soyle  long  time ; 

That  their  owne  mother  loathd  their  beastlinesse, 

And  gan  abhorre  her  broods  unkindly  crime, 

All  were  they  BORNE  OF  HER  OWNE  NATIVE  SLIME  : 2 

1  See  Ward,    Cat.   of  Romances,   I,   pp.    100-203.    Ward   catalogues 
six    Latin     MSS.    De    Origine    Glgantum.     Three    are    bound    with 
Geoffrey's  Historia  and  a  fourth  is  written  as  an  introduction  to  it. 

2  See  p.  43,  above. 


COMPARISON  45 

Hol.,  Hist.,  pp.  5,  6,  10,  8,  and  Q.3  In  two  separate 
paragraphs,  one  on  page  5  at  the  top  of  the  second  column, 
and  the  other  on  page  6  in  the  middle  of  the  second  col- 
umn, Holinshed  states  that  the  giants  are  said  to  be  sprung 
from  the  earth.  He  tells  at  length  the  story  of  those  whom 
Spenser  calls  "  Dioclesians  fifty  daughters."  "  These  La- 
dies thus  imbarqued  and  left  to  the  mercie  of  the  raging  seas, 

AT  LENGTH  BY  HAP  WERE  BROUGHT  TO  YE  COASTS  OF  THIS 

YLE.  .  .  ."  They  "  met  with  no  other  inhabitantes 
than  the  rude  and  sauage  giauntes  of  whome  before  we  haue 
made  mencion,  which  our  historicians  for  their  beastly 
kynde  of  lyfe,  doe  call  Deuilles.  .  .  ."  Afterward 
they  "  ingendred  a  race  of  people  in  proportion  nothing  dif- 
fering from  their  fathers  that  begote  them,  nor  in  condi- 
tions from  their  mothers  that  bare  them."  But,  accord- 
ing to  Holinshed,  these  ladies  were  not  Dioclesian's  daugh- 
ters, for  the  name  Dioclesianus  he  takes  to  be  a  mistaken 
substitute  for  the  correct  name,  Danaus.  Even  with  this 
correction  Holinshed  hesitates  to  vouch  for  the  truth  of  the 
story,  "  sith  I  see  not  how  either  in  this,  or  in  other  things 
of  suche  antiquitie  we  can  haue  any  sufficient  warrant  other- 
wyse  than  by  lykely  conjectures." 

Hardyng,  pp.  25  if.  Hardyng  tells  of  the  thirty  daugh- 
ters of  Dioclesian  who  came  to  this  island.  He  then  de- 
nies that  story  and  tells  of  the  fifty  daughters  of  Danao. 
So  greatly  did  they  desire  husbands 

"  that  spyrites,  in  mannes  forme, 
Lay  by  theim  their  desyres  to  performe. 

******** 

The  spyrites  gatte  children  y1  were  gyauwtes  tyte." 

(Ch.  5,  p.  29.) 

The  Brut,  p.  4.  The  daughters  of  Dioclician  desired  hus- 
bands. The  devil  sent  them  spirits  in  the  form  of  men, 
and  "  after  thei  broughten  forth  Geauntes,  of  which  on  me 

3  The  pages  are  given  in  the  order  in  which  they  occur.  Errors 
in  pagination  are  frequent  in  the  1577  edition. 


46  SPENSER'S  BRITISH  CHRONICLE  HISTORY 

called   Gogmagog,   and   ano^er  Laugherigan     ...     & 
they  dwellyd  in  Cauys  &  in  hulles  at  here  will     .     .     ." 

The  account  of  the  giants  is  continued  in  these  two  stan- 
zas with  details  in  no  way  suggested  by  Geoffrey.  The 
wonder  as  to  the  origin  of  the  giants  expressed  in  the  be- 
ginning of  the  eighth  stanza  and  the  reference  in  the  ninth 
stanza  to  the  one  mother  from  whose  "  owne  native  slime  " 
they  were  born,  both  seem  to  refer  to  the  theory  that  they 
were  "  sons  of  the  earth,"  and  to  originate  in  Holinshed's 
repeated  assertions  to  that  effect.  From  Holinshed  may 
have  come,  also,  Spenser's  doubt  as  to  the  story  of  Dio- 
clesian's  daughters.  But  the  influence  of  Holinshed  on  the 
story  itself  is  less  certain,  for  Spenser  has  retained  the  name 
Dioclesian,  which  Holinshed  insists  is  a  mistaken  substitu- 
tion for  Danao.  There  seem  to  have  been  two  stories  in 
existence,  one  the  story  of  Danao's  fifty  daughters,  the 
other  the  story  of  Dioclesian's  thirty  or  thirty-three  daugh- 
ters. Both  are  given  by  Hardyng,  but  only  the  story  of 
Dioclesian's  daughters  appears  in  the  English  Brut.4  This 
was  apparently  the  older  of  the  two.  So  in  retaining  the 
name  Dioclesian  Spenser  was  deliberately  rejecting  the 
newer  story.  A  significant  fact  is  that  he  did  not  at  the 
same  time  change  the  number  of  the  daughters  from  fifty 
to  thirty  or  thirty-three.  It  is  probable  that  he  was  follow- 
ing Holinshed  except  in  refusing  to  substitute  Danao  for 
Dioclesian.  In  one  respect,  however,  Spenser  shows  the  in- 
fluence of  some  other  authority.  His  account  of  the  spirits 
that  became  the  fathers  of  the  giants  is  certainly  based  on 
the  account  that  appears  both  in  the  English  Brut  and  in 
Hardyng,  from  either  of  which  sources  he  may  have  taken 
it.  In  these  stanzas,  then,  Spenser  seems  to  have  followed 
Holinshed  in  the  main,  but  to  have  been  influenced  also  by 
the  older  versions  of  the  story  of  Dioclesian's  daughters, 
particularly  by  the  one  that  appears  in  the  English  Brut  and 
in  Hardyng. 

*  See  The.Brut,  E.  E.  T.  S.,  pp.  1-4. 


COMPARISON  47 

>,  //.  6  if.     Until  that  Brutus,  anciently  deriv'd 

Torn  roiall  stocke  of  old  Assaracs  line, 
Driven  by  fatall  error  here  arriv'd, 
And  them  of  their  unjust  possession  depriv'd. 

G.  of  M.,  I,  3,  pp.  5-6.  The  descent  of  Brutus  from 
Aeneas,  through  Ascanius  and  Silvius,  is  given. 

Hoi,  Hist.,  p.  9.     Holinshed  repeats  Geoffrey's  account. 

Virgil,  Georg.,  3,  35. 
"  Assaraci  proles." 

Spenser's  reference  to  "  old  Assaracs  line  "  is  an  evidence 
of  his  classical  reading,  and  a  new  way  of  expressing  the 
descent  of  Brutus  from  ^Eneas.  The  account  is  so  brief 
that  it  offers  no  clue  to  Spenser's  direct  source,  but  with 
the  mention  of  Brutus  Spenser  takes  up  the  narrative  in 
Geoffrey's  Historia,  so  that  Geoffrey  may  be  assumed  to 
have  been  his  source. 


10.  But  ere  he  had  established  his  throne, 
And  spred  his  empire  to  the  utmost  shore, 
He  fought  great  batteils  with  his  salvage  fone; 
In  which  he  them  defeated  evermore, 
And  many  Giaunts  left  on  groning  flore : 

G.  of  M.,  I,  1 6,  //.  4  if.,  p.  1 8. 

"  Peragratis  ergo  quibusque  provinciis,  repertos  gygantes  in 
cavernas  montium  fugant,  patriamque  donante  duce  sorti- 
untur." 

Hoi,  Hist.,  p.  15. 

"But  as  he"  (Brutus)  "thus  trauayled  to  discouer  the 
state  and  commodities  of  the  ylande,  he  was  encountred  by 
diuers  strong  &  mightie  Giauntes,  whom  he  destroyed  and 
slewe,  or  rather  subdued  them,  with  all  suche  other  people, 
as  hee  founde  in  the  Ilande,  whiche  were  more  in  number 


48  SPENSER'S  BRITISH  CHRONICLE  HISTORY 

undoubtedly  than  by  report  of  some  authors,  it  shoulde  appere 
there  were." 

Hardyng,ch.  n,  p.  39. 

"  The  giaunts  also  he  sleugh  doune  beelive 
Through  all  the  lande  in  battaile  mannely." 

Spenser's  statement  that  Brutus  defeated  the  giants  in 
"  great  batteils  "  cannot  have  its  source  in  Geoffrey's  ac- 
count of  the  giants'  fleeing  to  the  mountain  caves.  It 
might  possibly  spring  from  Holinshed's  statement  that 
Brutus  "  encountered  .  .  .  destroyed  and  slewe,  or 
rather  subdued  them."  Yet  while  this  suggests  actual  fight- 
ing, it  is  almost  too  vague  to  be  the  source  of  Spenser's 
downright  assertion.  A  more  probable  source  is  Hardyng's 
declaration  that  Brutus  slew  the  giants  "  through  all  the 
lande  in  battaile,"  which  is  as  downright  as  Spenser's. 
Hardyng,  therefore,  seems  to  have  been  Spenser's  source. 


10,  //.  6  ff.     That  well  can  witness  yet  unto  this  day 
The  westerne  Hogh,  besprincled  with  the  gore 
Of  mighty  Goemot,  whome  in  stout  fray 
Corineus  conquered,  and  cruelly  did  slay. 

t; 

G.  of  M.j  I,  1 6,  p.  1 8  /.  The  story  of  Goemagot  is  told 
at  length.  Corineus  hurled  the  giant  from  a  high  rock  in 
the  port  where  they  first  landed,  which  was  on  the  coast  of 
Totnesse,5  ".  .  .  at  ille "  (Goemagot)  "per  abrupta 
saxa  cadens,  in  multa  frusta  dilaceratus  est:  et  fluctus 
sanguine  maculavit"  (1.  40  /.,  p.  19). 

Hoi.,  Hist.,  p.  i$. 

"  Among  these  Giants  (as  Geffrey  of  Monmonthe  writeth,) 
there  was  one  of  passing  strengthe  and  greate  estimation, 
named  Gogmagog,  with  whome  Brute  caused  Corineus  to 
wrastell,  at  a  place  beside  Douer,  where  it  chaunced,  that  the 

6  See  ch.  15. 


COMPARISON  49 

Giaunt  brake  a  ribbe  in  the  syde  of  Corineus  whyle  they 
stroue  to  claspe,  and  the  one  to  ouerthrowe  the  other:  where- 
with Corineus  being  sore  chafed  and  stirred  to  wrath,  he  so 
doubled  his  force  that  he  got  the  upper  hand  of  the  Gyaunt, 
and  caste  him  downe  headlong  from  one  of  the  rockes  there, 
not  farre  from  Douer,  and  so  dispatched  hym :  by  reason 
whereof,  the  place  was  named  long  after,  the  fall  or  leape 
of  Gogmagog,  but  afterwards  it  was  called  the  fall  of  Douer." 

Camd.,  Brit.,  p.  129. 

"  De  fabulosa  ilia  Corinei  cum  Gogmagog  Gigante,  hoc  in 
loco  colluctatione,  sat  fit,  quia  credere  non  libet,  unum  &  alterum 
ex  Architrenio   de   Gigantibus   nostris   versiculum   adiungere. 
Hos  auidem  belli  robur  Corineus  Auerno 
Praecipites  misit  cubitis  ter  quatuor  altum 
Gogmagog  Herculea  suspendit  in  acre  lucta, 
Anthaeumque  suum  scopulo  detrusit  in  aequor. 
Potauitque  dato  Thetis  ebria  sanguine  fluctus, 
Diuisumqw£  tulit  mare  corpus,  Cerberus  umbram. 
Scopulus   vero   ille,    e   quo   Gigantem   detrusum,    ferunt,   the 
Haw  nunc  dicitur     .     .     ." 

In  Geoffrey  the  giant's  name  is  Goemagot.  In  other 
versions  of  the  story  the  invariable  form  is  Gogmagog. 
Spenser's  form  Goemot  is  closer  to  Geoffrey's  form  than  to 
Gogmagog.  Geoffrey  is  also  the  probable  source  of  the  de- 
tail about  the  giant's  blood,  which  in  Spenser's  verse  be- 
spatters the  cliff,  and  in  Geoffrey's  Latin  stains  the  flood. 
But  in  locating  the  fight  at  the  "  westerne  Hogh,"  that  is, 
at  Plymouth,  Spenser  is  at  variance  both  with  Geoffrey, 
who  places  it  at  Totnesse,  and  with  Holinshed,  who  con- 
nects it  with  Dover.  He  agrees,  however,  with  Camden, 
and  with  local  tradition,  evidence  of  which  has  been  pre- 
served in  Richard  Carew's  Survey  of  Cornwall.6  Carew 
described  "  the  portraiture  of  two  men,  one  bigger,  the 
other  lesser  .  .  .  (whom  they  term  Gogmagog)," 
which  was  cut  upon  the  ground  at  the  HaWfe  in  Plymouth, 

6  Richard  Carew,  The  Survey  of  Cornwall,  with  notes  by  Thomas 
Tonkin:  London,  1811;  p.  4.  This  work,  although  not  printed  until 
1602,  is  said  to  be  referred  to  by  Camden  in  the  first  edition  of  the 
Britannia,  1586. 


50  SPENSER'S  BRITISH  CHRONICLE  HISTORY 

and  renewed  by  the  townsmen  when  necessary,  "  which 
should  infer  the  same  to  be  a  monument  of  some  moment." 
The  Receiver's  Accounts  of  the  borough  of  Plymouth 
records  expenditure  for  renewing  a  Gogmagog  figure  as 
early  as  1494-5,  and  at  intervals  afterward.7  By  this  local 
tradition,  whether  it  reached  Spenser  through  Carew's  Sur- 
vey in  manuscript,  through  Camden,  or  through  some  other 
source,8  Geoffrey's  story  was  modified.  In  other  respects 
Spenser  here  followed  Geoffrey. 


ii.  And  eke  that  ample  Pitt,  yet  far  renownd 
For  the  large  leape  which  Debon  did  compell 
Coulin  to  make,  being  eight  lugs  of  grownd, 
Into  the  which  retourning  backe  he  fell : 

Spenser  refers  to  the  story  of  Debon  and  Coulin  a  second 
time  in  the  Fcuerie  Queene,  III,  9,  50,  where  he  links  it,  as 
here,  with  the  story  of  Goemagot.  This  connection  with 
such  a  well-known  incident,  and  the  description  of  the  am- 
ple "  far  renownd  "  pit  across  which  Coulin  leaped,  both 
suggest  that  the  story  existed  before  Spenser's  time  and  was 
not  of  his  invention.  As  yet,  however,  no  source  has  been 
found. 


n,  //.  5  ff.     But  those  three  monstrous  stones  doe  most  ex- 
cell, 

Which  that  huge  sonne  of  hideous  Albion, 
Whose  father  Hercules  in  Fraunce  did  quell, 
Great  Godmer  threw,  in  fierce  contention, 
At  bold  Canutus;  but  of  him  was  slaine  anon. 

HoL,  Hist.,  pp.  5-6.  Albion  and  Bergion,  brothers, 
fought  with  Hercules  near  the  river  Rhone,  in  Gallia.  The 
army  of  Hercules  was  reduced  to  using  stones  as  weapons, 

7R.  N.  Worth,  The  Myth  of  Brutus  the  Trojan,  in  the  Trans,  of 
the  Devonshire  Ass'n,  vol.  XII,  p.  566. 

8  Spenser's  spelling,  "  Hogh,"  makes  another  source  the  most  prob- 
able. 


COMPARISON  51 

but  in  the  end  Hercules  conquered  and  killed  both  Albion 
and  Bergion. 

The  same  story  is  also  told  in  the  Descr.  of  Br.,  p.  ib. 

The  story  of  Canutus  and  Albion's  son,  Godmer,  like 
the  story  of  Debon  and  Coulin,  is  unknown  in  an  earlier 
form. 

The  incidental  allusion  to  the  fight  between  Albion  and 
Hercules  in  France  seems  to  be  based  on  Holinshed's  long 
account,  which  is  also,  apparently,  the  source  of  Spenser's 
version  of  the  story  in  the  Faerie  Queene,  IV,  n,  16. 
There  he  tells  how  Albion 

"  Out  of  his  Albion  did  on  dry  foot  pas  9 
Into  old  Gall,  that  now  is  cleeped  France, 
To  fight  with  Hercules  .  .  . 

******** 

And  then  his  mortall  part  by  great  mischance 
Was  slaine." 


12.  In  meed  of  these  great  conquests  by  them  gott, 
Corineus  had  that  Province  utmost  west 
To  him  assigned  for  his  worthy  lott, 
Which  of  his  name  and  memorable  gest 
He  called  Cornwaile,  yet  so  called  best; 

T 

G.  of  M.,  I,  16,  //.  12  if.,  p.  18. 

"At  Corineus  portionem  regni,  quae  sorti  suae  cesserat, 
ab  appellatione  sui  nominis  Corineiam  vocat:  populumque 
Corineiensem,  exemplum  ducis  insecutus:  .  .  .  maluit 
regionem  illam,  quae  nunc  vel  a  cornu  Britaniae,  vel  per  cor- 
ruptionem  praedicti  nominis  Cornubia  appellatur." 

Hoi.,  Hist.,  p.  i$. 

"  For  this  valiant  deede  "  (the  killing  of  Gogmagog)  "  and 
other  the  like  seruice  firste  and  laste  atchieued,  Brute  gaue 
vnto  Corineus  the  whole  countrey  of  Cornwall." 

9  This  is  another  reference  to  the  belief  that  England  was  once 
part  of  the  continent.  Cf.,  p.  38  f.,  above. 


52  SPENSER'S  BRITISH  CHRONICLE  HISTORY 

The  source  of  these  lines  may  have  been  Geoffrey's  His- 
toria,  which  may  even  have  influenced  Spenser's  wording 
slightly,  inasmuch  as  Spenser's  statement  that  the  province 
of  Cornwall  was  assigned  to  Corineus  "  for  his  worthy  lott " 
seems  to  echo  Geoffrey's  statement  that  the  province  "  sorti 
suae  cesserat." 


12,  //.  6  ff.     And  Debons  shayre  was  that  is  Devonshyre: 
But  Canute  had  his  portion  from  the  rest, 
The  which  he  cald  Canutium,  for  his  hyre; 
Now  Cantium,  which  Kent  we  comenly  inquyre. 

For  these  particular  facts,  as  for  the  story  of  Canutus 
in  general,  no  source  has  been  found.10 


13.  Thus  Brute  this  Realme  unto  his  rule  subdewd, 

And  raigned  long  in  great  felicity, 

Lov'd  of  his  freends,  and  of  his  foes  eschewd : 

He  left  three  sonnes,  his  famous  progeny, 

Borne  of  fayre  Inogene  of  Italy; 

Mongst  whom  he  parted  his  imperial!  state, 

And  Locrine  left  chiefe  Lord  of  Britany. 

At  last  ripe  age  bad  him  surrender  late 

His  life,  and  long  good  fortune,  unto  finall  fate. 

G.  of  M.,  II,  i  ,11.  i  ff.,  p.  20. 

"  Cognoverat  autem  Brutus  uxorem  suam  Ignogen ;  et  ex 
ea  genuit  tres  inclytos  filios,  quibus  erant  nomina:  Locrinus, 
Albanactus,  et  Kamber.  Hi,  postquam  pater  vigesimo  quarto 
anno  sui  adventus  ab  hoc  seculo  migravit,  sepelierunt  eum 
intra  urbem  quam  condiderat,  et  diviserunt  regnum  Britan- 
niae  inter  se,  et  secesserunt  unusquisque  in  locum  suum." 

HoL,  Hist.,  p.  12.  The  wife  of  Brutus  was  Innogen, 
daughter  of  Pandrasus,  king  of  the  Greeks. 

10  In  Devonshire,  near  Torquay,  there  is  a  place  which  has  been 
known  for  centuries  as  Kent's  Hole  or  Cavern.  To  explain  the  name 
a  story  is  told  of  a  dog  that  entered  the  cave  in  Devonshire  and 
went  and  went  until  he  came  out  in  Kent  (See  Trans,  of  Dev. 


COMPARISON  53 

p.  1 6.  Brutus  ruled  fifteen  years  and  had  three  sons, 
among  whom  he  divided  his  kingdom  (See  p.  54,  below). 

Although  the  form  of  the  name  Inogene  is  closer  to  Hol- 
inshed's  Innogen  than  to  Geoffrey's  Ignogen,  Spenser's  story 
seems  in  the  main  based  on  Geoffrey's  account,  and  shows 
a  slight  verbal  similarity  to  it.  In  one  detail,  however, 
there  is  a  difference.  According  to  Spenser  Inogene  came 
from  Italy,  not  Greece.  For  this  statement  he  apparently 
had  no  authority.  Either  his  memory  failed  him  —  a  possi- 
bility, inasmuch  as  Geoffrey  does  not  mention  Ignogen's 
native  country  in  the  passage  which  Spenser  seems  to  be 
paraphrasing  —  or  he  deliberately  substituted  Italy  for 
Greece  for  the  sake  of  alliteration  and  rhyme.11 


14.  Locrine  was  left  the  soveraine  Lord  of  all: 

But  Albanact  had  ALL  THE  NORTHERNE  PART, 

Which  of  himself e  Albania  he  did  call; 

And  Camber  did  possesse  the  Westerne  quart, 

WHICH  SEVERNE  NOW  FROM  Logris  DOTH  DEPART: 

And  each  his  portion  peaceably  enjoyd, 

Ne  was  there  outward  breach,  nor  grudge  in  hart, 

That  once  their  quiet  government  annoyd; 

But  each  his  paynes  to  others  profit  still  employd. 

G.ofM.,II,  i,ll.6ff.,p.20. 

"  Locrinus,  qui  primogenitus  erat,  possedit  mediam  partem 
insulae,  quae  postea  de  nomine  ejus  appellata  est  Loegria. 
Kamber  autem  partem  illam  quae  est  ultra  Sabrinum  flumen, 
quae  nunc  Gualia  vocatur,  quae  de  nomine  ipsius  postmodum 
Kambria  multo  tempore  dicta  fuit:  ...  At  Albanactus 
junior  possedit  patriam,  quae  lingua  nostra  his  temporibus 

Ass'n.,  vol.  V,  p.  183,  and  vol.  X,  p.  160).  This  story,  however,  is 
manifestly  of  no  great  antiquity.  Perhaps  the  name  of  Kent's  Cavern 
has  its  origin  in  some  forgotten  Devonshire  tradition  of  Canutus. 

11  The  omission  of  any  reference  to  Greece  in  Spenser's  account  of 
the  journey  of  Brutus  from  Italy  to  Britain  (F.  Q.,  Ill,  9,  48)  should 
be  noted.  See  p.  169  f.,  below. 


54  SPENSER'S  BRITISH  CHRONICLE  HISTORY 

appellatur  Scotia :  et  nomen  ei  ex  nomine  suo  Albaniam  dedit. 
Illis  deinde  concordi  pace  diu  regnantibus,  applicuit  Humber 
rex  Hunnorum  in  Albaniam." 

Hoi,  Hist.,  p.  1 6. 

"  In  this  meane  whyle  also  he  had  by  his  wyfe  .III.  sonnes, 
of  which  the  firste  was  named  Locrinus,  or  Locrine,  the  second 
Cambris  or  Camber,  and  the  third  Albanactus  or  Albanact. 
And  when  the  tyme  of  his  death  drew  neere,  To  the  first 
he  betoke  the  gouernment  of  that  part  of  the  lande  which 
is  nowe  knowne  by  the  name  of  England:  so  that  the  same 
was  long  after  called  Loegria  or  Logiers,  of  the  sayd  Locrinus. 

"  To  the  seconde  he  appoynted  the  countrey  of  Wales,  the 
whyche  of  hym  was  first  named  Cambria,  DEUIDED  FROM 
LOEGRIA,  BY  THE  RIUER  OF  SEUERNE. 

"  To  his  thirde  sonne  Albanacte,  hee  delyuered  ALL  THE 
NORTH  PARTE  of  the  Isle,  afterwardes  called  Albania,  after 
the  name  of  the  said  Albanacte:  which  portion  of  the  sayd 
Isle  lieth  beyond  the  Humber  northward  .  .  . 

"  Locrinus,  or  Locrine,  the  first  begotten  sonne  of  Brute 
began  to  reigne  ouer  ye  countrey  called  Logiers  .  .  ." 

Hardyng,  ch.  15,  pp.  42-43.  The  supreme  power  of 
Locrine  is  stated  clearly  and  at  length.  It  is  again  referred 
to  in  the  first  stanza  of  chapter  16.  Brutus  is  described  as 
parting  his  dominion  during  his  life. 

"  Fro  Humbar  North  vnto  the  Northwest  sea 
Of  all  Britaine,  which  he  called  Albany e 
For  Albanacte  the  kyng  thereof  to  be." 

Ch.  17,  p.  44. 

:'  This  eldest  sone  was  king  y1  hight  Locrine, 

Of  all  Britayne  hauing  ye  souerante, 

Hauing  Logres  as  Brute  dyd  determine, 

To  whome  Cambre,  and  Albanacte  the  free, 

Obeying  both  vnto  his  royalte, 

There  homage  made  as  to  ye  lorde  souerayne, 

And  emperoure  of  that  lande  of  Britayne. 

********* 

"And  reigned  so  (by  lyfe  in)112  one  assente, 
Eche   (one)   other  to  helpe  and  fortifye 

12  in  loue  by 


COMPARISON  55 

(And  thus  in  peace  holding  their  regalite)  ls 
But  as  they  satte  (so)  beste  in  peace  and  rest 
Kyng  Humbar  arose  in  Albyne  full  preste." 

Caxton,  ch.  5. 

"  And  when  brute  had  sought  al  the  land  in  lengthe  and 
in  brede  /  he  fonde  a  lande  that  joyned  to  brytayne  in  the 
north  and  that  londe  Brute  yaf  to  Albanac  his  sone  &  lete 
calle  it  Albania  after  his  name  /  that  now  is  callyd  Scot- 
land /  And  Brute  fond  an  other  countre  toward  the  Weste  / 
and  that  yaf  to  Cambyr  hys  other  sone  /  and  he  lete  calle 
it  Camber  after  his  name  /  and  now  it  is  called  Wales  /  And 
whan  brute  had  regned  /  XX.  yere  as  byfore  is  sayd,  he  dyed 
in  the  cyte  of  newe  troye  /  and  there  his  sone  him  entered 
with  moche  honour  /  and  lotryn  brutes  sone  was  crouned 
kyng  with  moche  solempnyte  of  al  the  land  of  Brytayne  / 
&  after  whan  he  was  crowned  albanac  and  camber  his  two 
bretheren  wente  ageyne  in  to  her  owne  countrey  &  lyved 
with  mykell  honour  /  And  lotryn  her  broder  regned  and  was 
kyng  and  gouerned  the  lande  wel  &  wysely  for  he  was  a  good 
man  and  wonder  wel  byloued  of  all  his  lond  /  And  it  befell 
so  that  Albanak  duellyd  in  his  owne  lande  with  moche  honoure 
and  worship  /  &  thenne  cam  kyng  humbar  of  hunland  with 
a  grete  power  &  arriued  in  albanye  /  " 

In  this  portion  of  the  story  the  later  chroniclers,  such  as 
Caxton,  Hardyng,  and  Holinshed,  differ  from  Geoffrey  in 
two  particulars.  They  state  (i)  that  Brutus  divided  his 
kingdom  during  his  lifetime,  and  (2)  either  that  Brutus 
named  Albania  or  that  it  was  so  named  by  posterity.  Ac- 
cording to  Geoffrey,  the  sons  themselves  divided  the  king- 
dom after  the  death  of  their  father,  and  Albanact  gave  his 
own  name  to  the  province  that  fell  to  his  share.  In  both 
these  particulars  Spenser  agrees  with  Geoffrey.  Neverthe- 
less the  later  chroniclers  evidently  had  some  influence. 
Spenser's  "  all  the  Northerne  part  "  echoes  Holinshed's  "  all 
the  North  parte,"  and  his  description  of  Cambria  as  divided 
from  Logris  by  the  Severne  is  like  Holinshed's  "  Cambria, 
deuided  from  Loegria  by  the  riuer  of  Seuerne."  At  the 

13  As  bretherne  shuld  of  theire  fraternytie. 


56  SPENSER'S  BRITISH  CHRONICLE  HISTORY 

same  time  Spenser's  first  line  seems  to  have  its  source  in 
Hardyng,  who,  like  Caxton,  and  unlike  Geoffrey  and  Holin- 
shed,  throws  Locrine's  overlordship  into  prominence. 
Spenser's  "  soveraine  Lord  of  all  "  is  practically  the  same  as 
Hardyng's  "  Of  all  Britayne  hauing  ye  souerante,"  and  his 
"  lorde  souerayne  "  a  few  lines  below.  From  Hardyng,  too, 
Spenser  apparently  took  the  form  Logris,  instead  of  Geof- 
frey's Loegria  or  Holinshed's  Logiers.  The  natural  con- 
clusion from  these  facts  is  that  Spenser  followed  Geoffrey 
in  the  main  outline  of  his  story,  but  also  was  influenced, 
especially  in  phrasing,  by  both  Holinshed  and  Hardyng. 
The  fusing  of  the  three  authorities  is  of  such  a  nature  as  to 
suggest  that  Spenser  may  have  had  all  three  books,  or  notes 
from  all  three,  before  him  at  once. 


15.  Untill  a  nation  straunge,  with  visage  swart, 
And  corage  fierce  that  all  men  did  affray, 

Which  through  the  world  then  swarmd  in  every  part, 

And  overflowd  all  countries  far  away, 

Like  Noyes  great  flood,  with  their  importune  sway, 

This  land  invaded  with  like  violence, 

And  did  themselves  through  all  the  North  display : 

Untill  that  Locrine  for  his  Realmes  defence, 

Did  head  against  them  make  and  strong  munificence. 

1 6.  He  them  encountred,  a  confused  rout, 
Foreby  the  River  that  whylome  was  hight 
The  ancient  Abus,  where  with  courage  stout 
He  them  defeated  in  victorious  fight, 

And  CHASTE  so  FIERCELY  after  fearefull  flight, 
That  forst  their  chief etain,  for  his  safeties  sake, 
(Their  Chief  etain  Humber  named  was  aright,) 
Unto  the  mighty  streame  him  to  betake, 
Where  he  an  end  of  batteill  and  of  life  did  make. 

G.  of  M.,  II,  1-2,  p.  20.     Humber,  king  of  the  Huns, 
invaded    Albania    and    killed    Albanactus.     Locrinus    and 


COMPARISON  57 

Camber  united  and  defeated  Humber  near  the  river  now 
tiled  Humber.  "  Inito  ergo  congressu  compulit  Humbrum 
in  fugam,  qui  usque  ad  fluvium  diffugiens,  est  submersus  in 
),  et  nomen  suum  flumini  reliquit  "  (ch.  2,  II.  3  if.). 
Hoi.,  Hist.,  pp.  16-17.  Humber,  "  a  King  of  the  Hunnes 
or  Scythians/ '  killed  Albanact  and  possessed  Albania,  "  til 
Locrinus  with  his  brother  Camber,  in  reuewge  of  their  other 
brothers  death,  and  for  the  recouery  of  the  kingdome, 
gathered  their  powers  togither,  and  comming  against  the 
said  king  of  the  Hunes,  by  the  valiancie  of  their  people  they 
discomfited  hym  in  battell,  and  CHASED  HIM  so  EGRELY, 
that  he  himselfe  and  a  greate  number  of  his  men  were 
drowned  in  the  Gulfe  that  then  parted  Loegria  and  Albania, 
which  after  tooke  name  of  ye  sayd  king,  &  was  called  Hum- 
ber, and  so  continueth  vnto  this  day." 

Descr.  of  Br.,  />.  31. 

"  There  is  no  ryuer  called  Humber  from  the  heade,  wher- 
fore  that  which  we  now  call  Humber14  hath  the  same  denomi- 
nation no  hygher  then  the  confluence  of  Trent  with  the  Ouze, 
as  beside  Leland,  sundry  auncyent  writers  haue  noted  before 
us  both.  .  .  .  yet  are  we  contented  to  cal  it  Humber, 
of  Humbrus  a  king  of  ys  Scithiens,  who  inuaded  this  He  in  ye 
time  of  Locrinus." 

Two  lines  of  Latin  verse  are  quoted  later :  — 

"  Dum  fugit  obstat  ei  flumen  submergitur  illic, 
Deque  suo  tribuit  nomine  nomen  aquae." 

Mir.  for  Mag.,  King  Locrinus,  st.  10,  vol.  I,  p.  55. 

"  When  hee   (Locrine)   was  deade  they  hop'd  to  winne  the 

rest 
And  ouer  Aby  streame  with  hast  did  hye. 

********** 
Wee  brake  theyr  rayes  and  forst  the  king  to  fly 
Into  the  arme  of  sea  they  ouercame, 
Where  Humber  drownde  the  waters  tooke  their  name." 

14  The  edition  of  1587  (vol.  I,  Descr.  of  Br.,  p.  92)  adds  here, 
"  Ptolomie  Abie,  Leland  Aber,  as  he  gesseth." 


58  SPENSER'S  BRITISH  CHRONICLE  HISTORY 

Spenser,  in  this  stanza,  has  dwelt  on  the  story  of  Hum- 
ber15  without  either  following  Geoffrey  very  closely  or  dif- 
fering from  hinu  in  any  essential  detail.  His  "  chaste  so 
fiercely  "  recalls  Holinshed's  "  chased  him  so  egerlie."  His 
Abus  is  like  the  "  Aby  streame  "  in  the  Mirror  for  Mag- 
istrates, and  his  "  forst  their  chief etain  "  may  be  more  than 
a  casual  resemblance  to  the  "  forst  the  king  "  in  the  same 
poem.  But  as  these  points  of  resemblance  are  slight,  the 
influence  of  Holinshed  and  the  Mirror  for  Magistrates  is 
a  conjecture  resting  on  trivial  evidence  only.  In  the  name 
Abus,  however,  we  have  certainly  from  some  source  an  ad- 
dition to  Geoffrey's  story.16 


17.  The  king  retourned  proud  of  victory, 
And  insolent  wox  through  unwonted  ease, 
That  shortly  he  forgot  the  jeopardy, 
Which  in  his  land  he  lately  did  appease, 
And  fell  to  vaine  voluptuous  disease : 

He  lov'd  faire  Ladie  Estrild,  leudly  lov'd ; 

Whose  wanton  pleasures  him  too  miuch  did  please, 

That  quite  his  hart  from  Guendolene  remov'd; 

From  Guendolene  his  wife,  though  alwaies  faithful  prov'd. 

1 8.  The  noble  daughter  of  Corineus 
Would  not  endure  to  bee  so  vile  disdaind, 
But,  gathering  force  and  corage  valorous, 

15  Humber  is  again  mentioned  in  the  Faerie  Queene,  Bk.  IV,  c.  n, 
stanzas  37-38.    He  is  there  said  to  have  been  a  Scythian,  and  to  have 
drowned  six  brothers,  all  valiant  knights,  who  became  six  rivers,  the 
names  of  which  are  given.    Locrinus,  son  of  Brutus,   avenged  them 
and    drowned   Humber    in   the   same   stream    in   which   Humber   had 
drowned  the  brothers.     From  Humber  the  stream  took  its  name.     It 
still  keeps  something  of  his  character,  for  it  is  troubled  with  storms. 
Significant  here  is  the  fact  that  Humber  is  called  a  Scythian,  and  not, 
as   in   Geoffrey,   a  Hun.    This   shows   the   influence   either   of   Holin- 
shed's History,  where  Humber  is   called  "a  King  of  the  Hunnes  or 
Scythians,"  or  of  the  Description,  where  Humber  is  said  to  have  been 
"  a  king  of  ye  Scithiens." 

16  The  addition  of  the  forms  of  the  name,  Abie  and  Aber,  in  the 
1587  edition  of  the  Descr.  of  Br.  should  be  noted.     See  note,  p.  57, 
above. 


COMPARISON  59 

Encountred  him  in  batteill  well  ordaind, 

In  which  him  vanquisht  she  to  fly  constraind : 

But  she  so  fast  pursewd,  that  him  she  tooke 

And  threw  in  bands,  where  he  till  death  remaind ; 

Als  his  faire  Leman  flying  through  a  brooke 

She  overhent,  nought  moved  with  her  piteous  looke  ; 

19.  But  both  her  selfe,  and  eke  her  daughter  deare, 

Begotten  by  her  kingly  Paramoure, 

The  faire  Sabrina,  almost  dead  with  feare, 

She  there  attached,  far  from  all  succoure; 

The  one  she  slew  upon  the  present  floure ; 

But  the  sad  virgin,  innocent  of  all, 

Adowne  the  rolling  river  she  did  poure, 

Which  of  her  name  now  Severne  men  do  call; 

SUCH  WAS  THE  END  THAT  TO  DISLOYALL  LOVE  DID  FALL. 

G.  of  M.,  II,  2-5,  pp.  20  if.  Locrinus  was  in  love  with 
Estrildis,  who  was.  captured  at  the  battle  of  the  Humber. 
Forced  to  fulfill  his  former  engagement  and  marry  Guendo- 
loena,  daughter  of  Corineus,  he  continued  secretly  his  re- 
lations with  Estrildis.  Finally,  after  the  death  of  Corineus, 
he  divorced  Guendoloena  and  made  Estrildis  queen.  But 
Guendoloena  gathered  an  army  and  fought  a  battle  with 
him  near  the  Sturius.  In  this  battle  Locrinus  was  killed  by 
an  arrow.  Estrildis  and  her  daughter  Sabre  were  thrown 
into  the  river  "  unde  contigit  quod  usque  in  hunc  diem  ap- 
pellatum  est  flumen  Britannica  lingua  Sabren,  quod  per  cor- 
ruptionem  nominis  alia  lingua  Sabrina  vocatur  "  (p.  22,  ch. 
5,  //.  13  ff.). 

HoL,  Hist.,  p.  17.  Holinshed  tells  the  story  more  briefly 
than  Geoffrey  does,  gives  the  name  of  Locrine's  wife  as 
"  Guendoloena  or  Guendoleyn,"  and  omits  all  mention  of 
the  death  of  Estrild  and  Sabrina. 

Desc.  of  Br.,  pp.  25  b  and  26.  Guendolena  drowned 
Estrildes,  whose  name  is  also  given  as  Estruldis,  and  her 
daughter  Habren  in  the  river  Severn. 


6o  SPENSER'S  BRITISH  CHRONICLE  HISTORY 

"  AND     IN     PERPETUAL    REMEMBRANCE    OF     HIR     HUSBANDES 

DISLOYALTIE  TOWARDES  HIR,  she  caused  the  streame  to  be 
called  Habren  of  the  young  Ladye,  for  which  the  Romaines 
in  processe  of  tyme  for  readinesse,  &  mildenesse  of  pronuncia- 
tion, wrate  Sabrina,  and  we  at  this  time  do  pronounce  the 
Sauerne.  ...  Of  the  drowning  of  the  sayde  Abren  also 
I  finde  these  verses  insuing. 

In  fluuium  praecipitatur  Abren, 
Nomen  Abren,  fluuio  de  virgine,  nomen  eidem 
Nomine  corrupto  deinde  Sabrina  datur." 

Mir.  for  Mag.,  King  Locrinus,  st.  22,  vol.  I.,  p.  58. 

•  "  But  Gwendoline,  that  saw  her  selfe  disdaynd, 
Strayght  fled,  and  mou'de  the  Cornish  men  to  fight." 

Stow,  p.  9.  "  She  drowned  the  Lady  Estrilde,  with  her 
daughter  Sabrine  in  a  riuer,  that  after  the  yong  maidens 
name  is  called  Seuerne." 

The  liveliness  of  style  that  characterizes  Spenser's  treat- 
ment of  the  story  of  Humber  is  continued  in  the  story  of 
Estrild  and  Sabrina.  Moreover,  there  appears  the  same 
freedom  in  the  use  of  authorities.17  The  story  agrees  in 
most  respects  with  Geoffrey's,  and  yet  shows  in  phrasing 
slight  traces  of  later  versions.  Guendoline  cannot  endure  to 
be  "  disdained  "  in  the  Mirror  for  Magistrates  or  in  Spenser. 
The  "  disloyalty "  of  Locrinus,  according  to  Holins- 
hed's  Description,  'is  to  be  perpetuated  by  the  naming 
of  the  river  Severne,  and  in  Spenser,  the  statement 
that  the  river  was  named  from  Sabrina  is  followed 
by  the  reflection,  "  Such  was  the  end  that  to  dis- 
loyal love  did  fall."  At  the  same  time,  in  this  very 
passage,  Spenser  varies  from  the  Description.  Instead  of 
having  the  river  named  by  the  injured  Guendoline,  he  says 
that  men  now  call  the  river  Severne,  which  echoes  Geof- 
frey's "in  hunc  diem  appellatum  est  flumen  .  .  . 
Sabren."  Yet  here  Spenser  also  comes  close  to  Stow's 

17  Both  stories  are  connected  with  British  rivers,  and  therefore 
probably  had  been  in  Spenser's  mind  since  1580. 


COMPARISON  6l 

wording,  "  a  riuer,  that  after  the  yong  maidens  name  is 
called  Seuerne,"  and  agrees  with  him  in  not  troubling  about 
the  method  of  deriving  Severne  from  Sabrina,  a  point 
which  Geoffrey,  Holinshed,  and  others  found  vexatious. 
Two  points  in  Spenser's  story,  however,  are  independent 
of  all  known  authority.  First  Spenser  describes  the  cap- 
ture and  imprisonment  of  Locrinus,  who  both  in  Geoffrey 
and  in  the  later  chroniclers  is  invariably  killed  by  an  arrow 
in  battle.  Secondly,  he  says  that  Guendoline  was  killed  at 
the  moment  of  capture,  and  Sabrina  alone  drowned  in  the 
river.  We  have  in  the  story  of  Locrinus,  then,  an  interest- 
ing situation.  Spenser  has  repeated  a  story  which  he  could 
have  found  in  Geoffrey  and  in  other  authorities  —  although 
Holinshed's  History  is  not  among  them  —  and  shows  traces 
of  possible  influence  from  the  Mirror  for  Magistrates, 
Holinshed's  Description,  and  Stow's  Chronicle,  but  at  the 
same  time  in  two  important  points  varies  from  previous  \/ 

authorities  and  gives  what  is  apparently  an  independent 
version. 


20.  Then  for  her  sonne,  which  she  to  Locrin  bore, 
Madan  was  young,  unmeet  the  rule  to  sway, 

In  her  owne  hand  the  crowne  she  kept  in  store, 
Till  ryper  years  he  raught  and  stronger  stay ; 
During  which  time  her  powre  she  did  display 
Through  all  this  Realme,  the  glory  of  her  sex, 
And  first  taught  men  a  woman  to  obay : 
But,  when  her  sonne  to  mans  estate  did  wex, 
She  it  surrendred,  ne  her  selfe  would  lenger  vex. 

21.  Tho  Madan  raignd,  unworthie  of  his  race, 
For  with  all  shame  that  sacred  throne  he  fild. 

G.  of  M.,  II,  6,  //.  i  ff.,  p.  22. 

"  Regnavit  autem  Guendoloena  quindecim  annis  post  inter- 
fectionem    Locrini:    qui    decem    annis    regnaverat.     Et    cum 


62  SPENSER'S  BRITISH  CHRONICLE  HISTORY 

vidisset  Maddan  filium  suum  aetate  adultum,  sceptro  regni 
eum  insignivit :  contenta  regione  Cornubiae,  dum  reliquum 
vitae  deduceret.  .  .  .  Regnumque  cum  pace  et  diligentia 
quadraginta  annis  tractavit." 

Hoi,  Hist.,  p.  17. 

"  Guendoloena   or   Guendoleyn 18     .     .     .     FOR   so    MUCHE 

AS    HIR    SONNE    MADAN    WAS    NOT    OF    YEERES    SUFFICIENT   TO 

GOUERNE,"  ruled  during  her  son's  minority  and  then  made 
him  king.  "  Ther  is  little  lefte  in  writing  of  his  doings, 
sauing  that  he  vsed  greate  tyranny  amongst  his  Britons:  and 
therefore  after  he  had  ruled  this  land  the  tearme  of  40  yeres, 
he  was  deuoured  of  wilde  beastes,  as  he  was  abroad  in 
hunting." 

Robert  Manning  of  Brunne,  II.  2125-6. 

"  Madan  regned  fourty  ger 

&  left  his  sones   )>at  lond  in  wer." 

Hardyng,  ch.  20,  p.  47.  Hardyng  gives  a  favorable  ac- 
count of  "  Maddan." 

Caxton,  ch.  7. 

"  &  he  (Madan)  regned  &  gouerned  the  land  wel  and 
honourably." 

Fdbyan,  p.  12. 

"  Of  this  is  lytell  or  no  memory  made  by  any  wryters, 
except  y*  some  wryte  of  hym  y*  he  vsed  great  Tyranny  amonge 
his  Brytons." 

Mir.  for  Mag.,  I,  pp.  86  if.     Madan  is  represented  as  evil. 

Stow,  p.  9. 

"  Guendoline  the  daughter  of  Corineus,  and  wife  to  Locrine, 
(for  so  much  as  Madan  her  sonne  was  too  young  to 
gouerne  the  Land)  was  by  common  assent  of  all  the  Brytaines, 
made  ruler  of  the  whole  He  of  Brytaine." 

Madan  "  vsed  great  tyranny  among  the  Brytans." 

The  story  of  Guendoline  and  her  son  Madan  breaks  into 
two  parts,  her  regency  and  his  reign.  The  first  part,  which 

18  This  name  also  appears  as  Guindoline. 


COMPARISON  63 


is  treated  in  full  by  Spenser,  may  show  the  influence  of 
Holinshed  and  Stow  in  the  statement  that  Madan  was  too 
young  to  rule,  although  this  might  be  inferred  easily  enough 
from  Geoffrey's  statement  that  Guendoline  surrendered  the 
scepter  when  her  son  reached  manhood.  The  second  part 
of  Spenser's  story,  however,  very  clearly  follows  late 
authorities.  Although  Geoffrey,  Caxton,  and  Hardyng 
agree  that  Madan  was  a  good  ruler,  Fabyan,  Holinshed,  and 
Stow,  on  the  other  hand,  say  that  Madan  "  vsed  great 
Tyranny  among  his  Brytons,"  19  and  the  Mirror  for  Magis- 
trates likewise  represents  Madan  as  an  evil  ruler.  So,  too, 
does  Spenser.  In  this  case,  therefore,  Spenser  has  varied 
from  Geoffrey  to  follow  later  versions  of  the  story. 


21 ,  M-  3~5-     Next  Memprise,  as  unworthy  of  that  place; 
In  which  being  consorted  with  Manild, 
For  thirst  of  single  kingdom  him  he  kild. 

G.  of  M.,  II,  6,  />,  22.  Mempricius  and  Malim,20  sons  of 
Maddan,  quarreled  for  the  rule,  "  quia  uterque  to  tarn 
insulam  possidere  aestuabat"  (I.  10  /.).  Mempricius 
treacherously  killed  Malim.  He  then  ruled  with  great 
tyranny  twenty  years.  While  hunting  he  was  devoured  by 
wolves. 

Hoi.,  Hist.,  p.  17.  Mempricius  was  the  eldest  son  of 
Madan.  His  brother  Manlius  rebelled  against  him  and  was 
by  him  treacherously  slain.  Mempricius  led  an  evil  life, 
and  after  twenty  years  was  slain  by  wild  beasts  while  he  was 
hunting. 

Robert  Manning  of  Brunne,  II.  2127-8. 

"  Pyse  breth^re  wer£  eu<?re  wroth^ 
ffor  ]>e  lond  fey  striuen  boj?e." 

19  The   fact  that   the   phrasing   is   identical   in   the   three   chronicles 
shows  a  common  origin  for  this  statement.     How  such  a  contradiction 
of  the   original  story  came   into   existence   is   difficult  to  understand. 
A  hint  of  a  movement  hostile  to  Madan  appears  as  early  as  Robert 
Manning  of  Brunne,  who  said  that  Madan  left  the  land  in  war,  but 
this  statement  can  scarcely  be  the  source  of  the  later  story.     Madan 
may    possibly    have    been    confused    with    his    successor,    the    wicked 
Mempricius. 

20  In  the  editions  of  1508  and  1517  this  name  appears  as  Manlio. 


64  SPENSER'S  BRITISH  CHRONICLE  HISTORY 

Caxton,  ch.  7. 

"  And  Menprys  for  encheson  that  he  was  the  eldest  sone 
wolde  haue  had  al  that  lond  /  &  maulyn  wold  not  suffre  hym." 

Stew's  Summarie,  Grafton's  Abridgment,  and  Cooper's 
Epitome  all  give  the  name  Manlius. 

The  transition  from  Madan  to  Memprise  emphasizes  the 
evil  rule  of  Madan,21  and  so  brings  into  this  portion  of  the 
story  also  the  influence  of  the  later  chroniclers.  But  the 
reason  why  Memprise  killed  Manild  — "  for  thirst  of  single 
kingdom  " —  is  more  clearly  and  forcibly  given  in  Geoffrey's 
"  quia  uterque  totam  insulam  possidere  aestuabat  "  than  else- 
where. We  have  in  these  three  lines,  therefore,  evidence 
of  the  use  of  both  Geoffrey  and  some  one  of  the  later 
chroniclers,  possibly  Holinshed. 


21,  //.  6  ff.     But  Ebranck  salved  both  their  infamies 
With  noble  deedes,  and  warreyd  on  Brunchild 

In  Renault,  where  yet  of  his  victories 

Brave  moniments  remaine,  which  yet  that  land  envies. 

22.  An  happy  man  in  his  first  dayes  he  was, 
And  happy  father  of  fair  progeny : 

For  all  so  many  weekes  as  the  yeare  has, 

So  many  children  he  did  multiply ; 

Of  which  were  twentie  sonnes,  which  did  apply 

Their  mindes  to  prayse  and  chevalrous  desyre: 

Those  germans  did  subdew  all  Germany, 

Of  whom  it  hight;  but  in  the  end  their  Syre 

With  foule  repulse  from  Fraunce  was  forced  to  retyre. 

G.  of  M.,  II,  7-8,  p.  23.  Ebraucus,22  son  of  Mempricius 
ruled  forty  years.  He  was  the  first  after  Brutus  to  invade 
Gaul.  He  returned  victorious.  He  had  twenty  sons  anc 
thirty  daughters.  His  sons  conquered  Germany. 

21  See  also  st.  21,  below,  "  But  Ebranck  salved  both  their  infamies.' 

22  In  the  editions  of  1508  and  1517,  Ebrancus. 


COMPARISON  65 

HoL,  Hist.,  pp.  17-18.  Ebrancke,  son  of  Mempricius, 
had  twenty  sons  and  thirty  daughters.  He  "  was  the  first 
Prince  of  his  lande  that  euer  inuaded  Fraunce  after  Brute, 
and  is  commended  as  author  and  originall  builder  of  many 
Cities,  both  in  his  owne  kingdome  and  else  where."  His 
sons  conquered  Germany.  Holinshed  does  not  say  that  the 
country  was  named  after  them,  but  he  describes  the  mar- 
riages of  the  children  and  names  the  towns  that  were  built 
at  this  time. 

"  After  which  cities  thus  builded,  he  [Ebrancke]  sayled 
ouer  into  Gallia,  now  called  France  with  a  great  army,  and 
subduing  the  Guilles  as  is  aforesayde,  he  returned  home  with 
great  riches  and  triumph."  This  was  evidently  the  first  expe- 
dition into  Gaul.  There  is  here  no  mention  of  a  second  inva- 
sion, or  of  Brunchild  and  Henalt,  but  later,  in  the  account 
of  Brute  Greeneshielde,  these  are  given,  with  a  reference  in 
the  margin  to  "  Jacobus  Les.  .  .  ."  "  Thys  Prince 
[Brute  Greeneshielde]  bare  alwayes  in  the  field  a  greene 
shielde,  whereof  he  jtoke  hys  surname,  and  of  him  some  for- 
raine  authors  affirme,  y4  he  made  an  attempte  to  bring  the 
whole  Realme  of  Fraunce  under  his  subiection,  which  he  per- 
formed, bycause  his  father  susteined  some  dishonor  and  losse 
in  his  last  voyage  into  that  countrey.  Howbeit  they  say,  y* 
whew  he  came  into  Henaud,  Brinchild  a  Prince  of  y*  quarter 
gaue  him  also  a  greate  ouerthrowe,  and  compelled  him  to 
retire  home  agayne  into  hys  countrey.  This  I  borrow  out 
of  William  Harrison,  who  in  his  chronologic  toucheth  the 
same  at  large,  concluding  in  the  end,  that  the  said  passage  of 
this  prince  into  France  is  verie  likely  to  be  true  .  .  ." 

Caxton,  ch.  7. 

"  Ebranc  thurgh  his  myghte  &  help  of  his  bretons  conquerd 
al  Fraunce  .  .  .  This  kyng  had  X'X  sones  /  XXXIII 
doughters  .  .  ." 

Fdbyan,  p.  13.  Ebranck  "  subduyed  the  Gallis,  and  re- 
tourned  with  great  triumphe  and  rychesse." 

Stow,  p.  9. 

"This  Ebranck  first  after  Brutus  attempted  to  inuade 
France  with  an  Army,  as  Jacobus  Bergomas  sayeth  in  his 


66  SPENSER'S  BRITISH  CHRONICLE  HISTORY 

sixth  of  his  Chronicles,  and  Jacobus  Lessabeus  in  the  descrip- 
tion of  Henalt  affirmeth  the  same,  and  that  he  was  driuen 
backe  by  Brunchildis,  Lord  of  Henalt,  with  no  small  losse 
of  his  men.  Assaracus,  the  second  Sonne  of  Ebrancke,  with 
the  rest  of  his  young  brethren  18  at  the  least  by  the  ayde  of 
Alba  Siluius,  conquered  all  Germany,  which  was  then  no 
great  matter.  ...  Of  these  brethren  had  Germany  the 
name,  a  germanis  fratribus,  that  had  subdued  it." 

In  his  account  of  Ebranck  Spenser  has  introduced  so 
many  variations  based  on  the  later  chroniclers  as  to  lead  to 
the  supposition  that  Geoffrey  was  entirely  superseded  at  this 
point.  Spenser  has  added  to  Geoffrey's  story  three  impor- 
tant particulars  —  the  derivation  of  the  name  Germany,  the 
name  of  Brunchild  of  Henalt,  and  the  final  defeat  of 
Ebranck  in  Gaul  —  and  while  retaining  the  number  of  the 
sons  as  in  Geoffrey,  he  has  changed  the  total  number  of  the 
children  from  fifty  to  fifty-two.  The  three  additions  to 
Geoffrey's  story  seem  all  to  be  based  on  Stow.23  But 
Spenser's  account  of  the  twenty  sons  who  subdued  Ger- 
many is  independent  of  Stow's  confusing  statement  that 
"Assaracus,  the  second  son  of  Ebrancke,  with  the  rest  of 
his  young  brethren  18  at  the  least  by  the  ayde  of  Alba 
Siluius,  conquered  all  Germany."  Spenser  had  evidently  in 
mind  the  usual  statement  that  there  were  twenty  brothers. 
In  his  count  of  all  the  children,  however,  he  may  have  been 
influenced  by  Caxton,  who  changed  the  familiar  fifty  to 
fifty-three,  although  it  is  quite  possible  that  in  saying  that 
Ebranck  had  as  many  children  as  there  were  weeks  in  the 
year,  Spenser  sought  merely  to  substitute  a  poetical  ex- 
pression for  the  round  number.  Nevertheless,  even  in  this 
case,  the  variation  in  Caxton  would  have  had  its  effect  in 

28  Holinshed  does  not  mention  the  naming  of  Germany,  or  the  de- 
feat of  Ebranck,  and  his  reference  to  Brunchild  does  not  occur  in 
his  account  of  this  reign.  Holinshed,  therefore,  cannot  be  Spenser's 
source.  But  the  manuscript  Chronologic  by  William  Harison,  to 
which  Holinshed  refers,  or  Stow's  source,  Jacobus  Lessabeus,  might 
conceivably  have  furnished  Spenser  with  the  material  he  used.  Yet 
even  if  this  were  the  case,  the  coincidence  in  the  selection  of  details 
would  indicate  that  Stow's  account  was  not  without  influence. 


COMPARISON  67 


justifying  the  liberty  he  was  taking.  Spenser's  account  of 
Ebranck,  then,  seems  to  show  in  a  minor  degree  the  in- 
fluence of  Caxton,  and  in  the  main  the  influence  of  Stow. 


23.  Which  blott  his  sonne  succeeding  in  his  seat, 
The  second  Brute,  the  second  both  in  name 
And  eke  in  semblaunce  of  his  puissaunce  great, 
Right  well  recur'd,  and  did  away  that  blame 
With  recompence  of  everlasting  fame : 

He  with  his  victour  sword  first  opened 

The  bowels  of  wide  Fraunce,  a  forlorne  Dame, 

And  taught  her  first  how  to  be  conquered ; 

Since  which,  with  sondrie  spoiles  she  hath  been  ransacked. 

24.  Let  Scaldis  tell,  and  let  tell  Hania, 
And  let  the  marsh  of  Esthambruges  tell, 
What  colour  were  their  waters  that  same  day, 
And  all  the  moore  twixt  Elversham  and  Dell, 
With  blood  of  Henalois  which  therein  fell. 
How  oft  that  day  did  sad  Brunchildis  see 
The  greene  shield  dyde  in  dolorous  vermeil  ? 
That  not  Scuith  guiridh  it  mote  seeme  to  bee, 
But  rather  3;  scuith  gogh,  signe  of  sad  crueltee. 

G.  of  M.,  II,  9,  //.  i  if.,  p.  24. 

"  Brutus  autem  cognomento  Viridescutum  cum  patre  re- 
mansit,  regnique  gubernaculo  potitus  post  patrem  duodecim 
annis  regnavit." 

Hoi.,  Hist.,  p.  1 8.  Brutus  Greeneshield  ruled  twelve 
years  and  conquered  France  (see  p.  80,  above). 

Stow,  p.  9. 

"Brutus  2  the  eldest  Sonne  of  Ebranke,  succeeded  in  the 
Kingdome,  and  for  that  his  father  had  receiued  such  a  repulse 
at  the  hands  of  Brunchildis,  Lord  of  Henalt,  hee  in  reuenge 
thereof,  inuaded  Henalt  with  a  great  army  in  the  Fennes  and 
Marshland,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Riuer  Scaldis  (of  old  time 


68  SPENSER'S  BRITISH  CHRONICLE  HISTORY 

named  Stadus)  and  encamped  himself e  upon  the  river  Hania, 
where  betweene  Brutus  and  Brunchildis  was  foughten  a  strong 
battell  in  that  place,  which  to  this  day  is  called  Estam-bruges, 
of  the  station  and  campe  of  Brutus,  as  Jacobus  Lessabeus 
writeth  in  his  description  of  Henalt.  This  Brute,  of  his  lusty 
courage,  was  surnamed  Greene  shield,  he  raigned  12  yeeres, 
and  was  buried  at  Yorke." 

Spenser's  account  of  the  victory  won  by  the  second 
Brutus,  with  its  reference  to  the  Scaldis,  the  Hania,  and 
Esthambruges,  may  be  based  chiefly  on  Stow's  chronicle, 
which  it  closely  resembles,  even  in  the  order  in  which  it 
gives  the  proper  names.  Holinshed,  however,  may  have 
had  some  influence  on  Spenser's  account  of  the  "  green 
shield "  which  Brunchildis  saw  dyed  in  "  dolorous  ver- 
meil," for  Holinshed  alone  refers  to  the  fact  that  "  Brutus 
bare  alwayes  in  the  field  a  greene  shielde,  whereof  he 
toke  hys  surname."  Spenser  may  also  have  had  access 
to  the  Description  of  Henalt  by  Jacobus  Lessabeus  or  to 
the  Chronicles  by  Jacobus  Bergomas,  the  first  of  which 
Stow  names  as  his  authority,  and  both  of  which  are  re- 
ferred to  by  Holinshed.24  Certainly  he  added  something 
to  what  he  found  in  Stow  and  Holinshed,  for  neither 
authority  gives  the  Welsh  words  for  green  shield  and  red 
shield,25  or  mentions  "  the  moore  twixt  Elversham  and 
Dell."  We  may  conclude,  then,  that  Spenser,  in  this  vig- 
orous and  poetical  account  of  the  second  Brute,  departed 

24  Holinshed   says   also   that   William   Harison,   in  his    Chronologie, 
gives  the  same  at  large. 

25  These  Welsh  words  are  in  every  way  mysterious.     Some  copies 
of  the  edition  of   1590  give  the  last  two   lines   of  the  twenty- fourth 
stanza  in  an  imperfect  form : 

"That  not  it  mote  seem  to  be 

But 

These  omissions  may  be  due  to  an  error  in  printing,  or  to  a  delay 
on  Spenser's  part  in  completing  his  manuscript,  because  of  his  un- 
certainty about  the  Welsh.  To  add  to  the  confusion,  copies  in  which 
the  Welsh  words  are  omitted  have  the  spelling  of  those  words  cor- 
rected in  the  Errata.  J.  Payne  Collier,  in  his  edition  of  Spenser, 
London,  1862,  called  attention  to  this  fact  I  have  verified  it  by 
reference  to  Mr.  J.  P.  Morgan's  copy  of  the  first  edition  of  the  Faerie 
Queene. 


COMPARISON  69 

entirely  from  the  brief  and  dry  account  in  Geoffrey,  and 
followed  Stow,  or  Stow's  original,  with  perhaps  some 
reference  to  Holinshed,  and  certainly  with  some  knowl- 
edge of  another  authority  as  yet  undiscovered. 


25.  His  sonne,  king  Leill,  by  fathers  labour  long, 

Enjoyd  an  heritage  of  lasting  peace, 

And  built  Cairleill,  and  built  Cairleon  strong. 

G.  of  M.,  II,  9,  //.  3  #.,  p.  24.  "...  huic 
successit  Leir  ejus  filius  pacis  atque  aequitatis  amator." 
Leir  had  a  prosperous  reign  of  twenty-five  years.  He 
built  Kaerleir.  Toward  the  end  of  his  reign  he  grew  re- 
miss in  his  government  and  so  occasioned  a  civil  dissen- 
sion. 

HoL,  Hist.,  p.-  1 8.  Leil  built  Caerleil  and  repaired 
Caerleon. 

"  But  now  to  ye  purpose  concerning  K.  Leil.  We  find  it 
recorded  y*  he  was  in  ye  beginning  of  his  raigne  very  vpright, 
&  desirous  to  see  iustice  executed,  &  aboue  all  things  loued 
peace  &  quietnesse,  but  as  yeres  encreased  with  him,  so  his 
vertues  began  to  diminish,  in  so  much,  that  abandoning  ye 
care  for  the  body  of  ye  common  welth,  he  suffered  his  own 
body  to  welter  in  all  vice  and  voluptuousnesse,  &  so  procuring 
the  hatred  of  hys  subiectes,  caused  malice  and  discorde  to 
ryse  amongst  them,  which  during  his  life,  he  was  neuer  able 
to  appease.  But  leauing  them  so  at  variance,  departed  this 
life,  and  was  buried  at  Careleil  .  .  ." 

Stow,  p.  9. 

"  Leill  the  sonne  of  Brute  Greeneshield,  being  a  louer  of 
peace,  builded  Carleile,  and  repaired  Carleon  .  .  .  King 
Leill  in  the  end  of  his  raigne,  fell  to  sloth,  and  lust  of  the 
body,  by  meanes  whereof,  ciuill  strife  was  raised,  and  not  in 
his  daies  ended.  He  raigned  25  yeers,  and  was  buried  at 
Carleile  alias  Chester." 


70  SPENSER'S  BRITISH  CHRONICLE  HISTORY 

Caxton,  ch.  9.  Leill  "  made  a  fair  toune  /  &  lete  calle 
it  Carlylle.  .  .  .  And  whan  he  had  regned  XXII 
yere  he  dyed  /  &  lyeth  at  Caerlyll." 

Spenser's  account  of  King  Leill,  brief  as  it  is,  differs 
from  Geoffrey's  in  three  respects  —  i.  e.  in  the  name  Leill, 
in  the  reference  to  Cairleon,  and  in  the  statement  that  the 
reign  was  peaceful.  Spenser  is  following  the  later  chron- 
iclers with  regard  to  the  name,  and  also  apparently  in  his 
reference  to  Cairleon,  although  he  varies  the  story  by  say- 
ing that  Leill  built  the  city,  while  the  chroniclers  state  only 
that  he  repaired  it.  The  chroniclers  do  not,  however,  give 
any  authority  for  the  statement  that  the  reign  was  peace- 
ful. As  mere  conjecture  one  may  hazard  two  supposi- 
tions, which  separately  or  conjointly  might  account  for 
Spenser's  reference  to  the  "  heritage  of  lasting  peace." 
Spenser  apparently  was  following  Stow  in  his  narrative 
of  the  two  previous  reigns.  If  he  continued  to  read  in 
Stow  he  would  have  found  in  the  first  sentence  of  the  par- 
agraph about  Leill  the  main  facts.  Then  he  would  have 
been  confronted  with  twenty-nine  lines  given  over  to  an 
account  of  the  Roman  legion,  and  filled  with  figures.  If  he 
followed  the  reader's  natural  impulse  to  omit  the  digres- 
sion, his  eye  might  easily  have  caught  only  the  last  sen- 
tence, which  is  about  Leill's  burial,  or  the  first  sentence  of 
the  new  paragraph,  which  deals  with  Rudhudibras,  and  he 
would  thus  have  missed  Stow's  brief  reference  to  civil  strife. 
Or  Spenser  may  have  been  influenced  by  the  fact  that  Cax- 
ton makes  no  mention  of  the  trouble  that  came  at  the  end 
of  Leill's  reign.26  Consequently,  all  three  variations  from 
Geoffrey's  story,  and,  indeed,  Spenser's  whole  account  of 
the  reign  of  Leill,  except  for  the  building  instead  of  the  re- 
pairing of  Cairleon,  can  be  explained  on  the  supposition  that 
Spenser  used  Caxton  and  Stow. 


28  Caxton,  although  a  possible  source  for  the  "  lasting  peace,"  could 
not  have  been  Spenser's  only  source,  because  Caxton,  like  Geoffrey, 
makes  no  mention  of  Cairleon. 


COMPARISON  71 

25,  //.  4-5.     Next  Huddibras  his  realme  did  not  encrease, 
But  taught  the  land  from  wearie  wars  to  cease : 

G.  of  M.j  II,  9,  p.  24.  Hudibras  21  pacified  the  kingdom 
and  built  three  cities,  Kaerlem,  Kaerguen,  and  the  town 
now  called  Sefovia. 

Hol.}  Plist.,  pp.  18—19.  Lud,  or  Ludhurdibras,  pacified 
the  kingdom  and  built  Canterbury,  Winchester,  and  Shaftes- 
bury. 

As  Leill  "  Enjoyd  an  heritage  of  lasting  peace  "  which 
resulted  from  his  "  fathers  labour  long/'  it  is  difficult  to  see 
why  Hudibras  found  it  necessary  to  teach  the  land  "  from 
wearie  wars  to  cease."  At  first  it  seems  as  if  here  Spen- 
ser, careless  of  the  discrepancy,  had  reverted  to  the  story 
told  by  Geoffrey  and  repeated  in  the  later  chronicles,  ac- 
cording to  which  the  civil  strife  of  Leill's  reign  was  paci- 
fied by  Leill's  successor.  But  Spenser's  first  line  makes  this 
doubtful,  for  the  statement  that  Hudibras  did  not  increase 
his  realm  suggests  that  the  wars  which  he  did  not  wage 
were  foreign,  not  civil,  wars.  Spenser's  lines  would  then 
grow  out  of  the  account  of  the  second  Brutus,  and  would 
perhaps  be  an  attempt  to  explain  the  facts  in  Geoffrey's 
account  of  Hudibras  so  as  to  make  them  harmonize  with 
the  account  of  Leill  to  which  Spenser  had  previously  com- 
mitted himself.  However  this  may  be,  Geoffrey  was  cer- 
tainly influential  in  this  passage,  for  the  name  Hudibras  is 
not  found  in  the  later  chronicles,  which  have  Rudhudibras, 
Ludibras,  Lud,  and  other  variations  of  the  name.28  Geof- 
frey may  therefore  be  considered  the  source  of  this  passage. 


25,  //.  6  ff.     Whose  footsteps  Bladud  following,  in  artes 
Exceld  at  Athens  all  the  learned  preace, 

27  In  the  editions  of  1508  and   1517,  Hurdibras. 

28  Fletcher,  Arthurian  Material,  p.  86,  says  that  all  the  manuscripts 
of  Geoffrey  which  he  has  seen  give  Rudhudibras,  which  he  thinks  was 
probably  Geoffrey's  real  form.    This  would  account  for  the  forms  in 
the  later  chronicles. 


72  SPENSER'S  BRITISH  CHRONICLE  HISTORY 

From  whence  he  brought  them  to  these  salvage  parts, 
And  with  sweet  science  mollifide  their  stubborne  harts. 

26.  Ensample  of  his  wondrous  faculty, 

Behold  the  boyling  bathes  at  Cairbadon, 

Which  seeth  with  secret  fire  eternally, 

And  in  their  entrailles,  full  of  quick  Brimston, 

Nourish  the  flames  which  they  are  warmd  upon, 

That  to  their  people  wealth  they  forth  do  well, 

And  health  to  every  forreyne  nation : 

Yet  he  at  last,  contending  to  excell 

The  reach  of  men,  through  flight  into  fond  mischief  fell. 

G.  of  M.,  II,  10,  p.  24.  Bladud  ruled  twenty  years.  He 
built  Kaerbadus,  now  Bath,  and  made  the  hot  baths,  which 
he  dedicated  to  Minerva :  ".  .  .  .  in  cujus  aede  inex- 
tinguibiles  posuit  ignes,  qui  nunquam  deficiebant  in  favillas, 
sed  ex  quo  tabescere  incipiebant  in  saxeos  globos  verteban- 
tur"  (//.  4-6).  Bladud  taught  and  practised  magic.  In 
an  attempt  to  fly  he  fell  upon  one  of  Apollo's  temples  and 
was  killed. 

HoL,  Hist.,  p.  19.  Bladud,  or  Baldud,  who  ruled  twenty 
years,  was  learned  in  magic,  by  which  he  made  the  hot 
baths  at  Caerbran  (Bath).  "But  William  of  Malmesbery 
is  of  a  contrary  opinion,  affirming  that  Julius  Cesar  made 
those  bathes  or  rather  repayred  them  when  he  was  here  in 
Englande:  which  is  not  like  to  be  true."  Bladud,  "to 
shew  his  cunning  in  other  poynts,  vppon  a  presumptuous 
pleasure  which  he  had  therein,"  attempted  to  fly,  and  fell 
upon  the  temple  of  Apollo  and  was  killed.  Holinshed  uses 
in  the  text  the  name  Baldud,  but  in  the  margin,  Bladud. 

Descr.  of  Br.,  pp.  88a  and  88&.  The  virtue  of  the  baths 
at  Bath  is  due  to  sulphur.  If  anything  is  mingled  with  it, 
it  is  saltpetre.  "  But  howsoeuer  ye  matter  standeth  this  is 
to  be  gathered  by  our  hystories,  that  Bladud  first  buylded 
that  citie  there,  and  peraduenture  might  also  kindle  the 


COMPARISON  73 

Sulphurous  vaines  of  purpose  to  burne  continually e,  in  the 
honour  of  Minerva." 

La^amon,  ed.  Madden,  Notes,  vol.  Ill,  p.  318.  In  a 
metrical  fragment  written  in  a  hand  of  the  fourteenth  cen- 
tury, and  found  in  the  Cotton  copy  of  "  Robert  of  Glouces- 
ter," is  a  description  of  the  baths  at  Bath.  The  first  in- 
gredient mentioned  is  "  quick  brimston."  29 

Hardyng,  ch.  2$,  p.  $2. 

"  When  at  Athenes  he  had  studied  clere, 

He  brought  with  hym  IIII  philosophiers  wise, 

Schole  to  holde  in  Brytayne  and  exercyse 

********* 

He  flyed  on  high  to  the  temple  Apolyne, 

(And  ther  brake)   his  necke  for  al  his  great  doctrine." 

Fabyan,  p.  14.     Caerbadon. 

Grafton,  p.  34  /.  Bladud  studied  at  Athens.  Grafton 
quotes  Bale. 

Mir.  for  Mag.,  King  Bladud,  st.  3,  vol.  I,  pp.  112  if. 

"  In  Britayne  though  I  learned  had   full  well 
The  artes,  and  could  amongist  the  wise  conferre, 
Yet  when  of  Athens  I  the  fame  heard  tell 
(Though  it  in   Greece  so   far  hence  distant  were) 
I  trauaylid  thither,  writers  witnesse  are 
I  studied  there,  and  thence  of  learned  men  I  brought 
That  learning  might  from  Britayne  land  no  more  so  far  bee 
sought." 

Caxton,  Descr.  of  Eng.,  ch.  19.  Bath  is  called  Caer- 
badun.  Caxton  denies  that  either  Julius  Caesar  or  Bladud 
made  the  baths,  "  but  it  accordeth  better  to  kindly  reson 
that  the  water  renneth  in  the  erth  by  veynes  of  brym- 
ston  and  sulphur  and  so  is  kendly  made  hoote  in  that 
cours  .  .  ." 

Stow,  p.  10.  "Bladud,  the  Sonne  of  Rudhudibras,  who 
had  long  studied  at  Athens,  brought  with  him  foure  Phi- 

29  See  note,  p.  25,  above. 


74  SPENSER  S   BRITISH    CHRONICLE    HISTORY 

losophers  to  keep  schoole  in  Britain."  Stow  mentions  the 
hot  baths  without  describing  them.  He  says  that  Bladud 
"  presumed  to  fly." 

Camd.,  Brit.,  p.  165.  ".  .  .  sulphure  enim  & 
bitumine  aqua  percolatur  .  .  ."  In  the  edition  of 
I^37  (p-  233),  this  is  translated  "the  water  is  .  .  . 
strained  through  veins  of  Brimstone,  and  a  clammy  kind  of 
earth  called  Bitumen." 

The  description  of  Bath,  in  which  Spenser  showed  much 
interest,  is  composed  of  elements  that  are  common  to  a 
number  of  the  chroniclers.  The  virtues  of  the  baths  were 
usually,  though  not  by  Geoffrey,  ascribed  to  sulphur,  for 
which  brimstone  is  merely  another  name.30  Spenser's  ex- 
act words,  "  quick  Brimston,"  occur  in  the  metrical  frag- 
ment in  the  Cotton  copy  of  "  Robert  of  Gloucester,"  and  as 
this  fragment  seems  to  have  been  used  in  the  Mirror  for 
Magistrates?1  the  coincidence  is  especially  curious.  Some 
version  of  the  material  in  the  fragment  may  have  been  in 
circulation  at  the  end  of  the  sixteenth  century,  or  Spenser 
may  have  seen  the  fragment  itself.  'But  even  if  so,  he 
was  also  influenced  by  accounts  more  nearly  contemporary, 
as  is  indicated  by  his  reference  to  the  wealth  and  health 
that  are  derived  from  the  baths.  And  his  form  of  the  old 
name,  Cairbadon,  which  differs  slightly  from  Geoffrey's,  a 
little  less  from  Caxton's,  and  much  from  Holinshed's, 
agrees  with  Grafton's.  Apart  from  the  details  in  the  de- 
scription of  Bath,  Spenser  has  added  to  Geoffrey's  narra- 
tive the  story  of  .Bladud's  journey  to  Athens,  whence  he 
brought  the  "  artes  "  to  Britain.32  For  this  journey  Spen- 
ser had  ample  authority  in  Hardyng,  Grafton,  and  Stow, 

30  Caxton,    to   be    sure,    speaks    of    "  brymston    and    sulphur "    as    if 
they  were  two   different   substances,  but  cf.   translation   of   Camden's 
Britannia,  above. 

31  Cf.  p.  25,  above. 

32  The  usual  story  is  that  Bladud  brought  back  four  philosophers  to 
teach  school.     According  to  some  accounts  he  founded  the  university 
of  Stamford.     See  Grafton,  p.  35,  Hardyng,  p.  52,  Mirror  for  Magis- 
trates, Bladud,  st.  6,  vol.  I,  p.  116,  Stow,  p.  io. 


COMPARISON  75 

and  a  poetical  example  in  the  Mirror  for  Magistrates.  The 
use  of  the  word  "  artes  "  to  describe  Bladud's  studies  sug- 
gests that  this  last  had  special  influence.  Spenser's  account 
of  Bladud,  we  may  conclude,  shows  the  influence,  not  of 
Holinshed,  but  of  other  writers  later  than  Geoffrey.  Bas- 
ing the  assertion  on  what  is  admittedly  slight  evidence,  we 
may  name  among  the  works  from  which  Spenser  may  have 
drawn  material  (i)  the  fragment  in  the  Cotton  copy  of 
"  Robert  of  Gloucester,"  (2)  Grafton,  and  (3)  the  Mirror 
for  Magistrates. 


27.  Next  him  king  Leyr  in  happie  peace  long  raynd, 
But  had  no  isswe  male  him  to  succeed, 

But  three  faire  daughters,  which  were  well  uptraind 

In  all  that  seemed  fitt  for  kingly  seed : 

Mongst  whom  his  realme  he  equally  decreed 

To  have  divided.     Tho,  when  feeble  age 

Nigh  to  his  utmost  date  he  saw  proceed, 

He  cald  his  daughters,  and  with  speeches  sage 

Inquyrd,  which  of  them  most  did  love  her  parentage  ? 

28.  The  eldest,  Gonorill,  gan  to  protest 

That  she  much  MORE  THAN  HER  OWNE  LIFE  him  lov'd; 

And  Regan  greater  love  to  him  profest 

Then  all  the  world,  when  ever  it  were  proov'd; 

But  Cordeill  said  she  lov'd  him  as  behoov'd: 

Whose  simple  answere,  wanting  colours  fayre 

To  paint  it  forth,  him  to  displeasaunce  moov'd, 

That  in  his  crown  he  counted  her  no  hayre, 

But  twixt  the  other  twain  his  kingdom  whole  did  shayre. 

29.  So  wedded  th'one  to  Maglan  king  of  Scottes, 
And  thother  to  the  king  of  Cambria, 

And  twixt  them  shayrd  his  realme  by  equall  lottes ; 

But  without  dowre  the  wise  Cordelia 

Was  sent  to  Aggannip  of  Celtica. 

Their  aged  Syre,  thus  eased  of  his  crowne, 


OP  THE 

UNIVERSITY 

OF 


76  SPENSER'S  BRITISH  CHRONICLE  HISTORY 

A  private  life  ledd  in  Albania 

With  Gonorill,  long  had  in  great  renowne, 

That  nought  him  griev'd  to  beene  from  rule  deposed  downe. 

30.  But  true  it  is  that,  when  the  oyle  is  spent, 
The  light  goes  out,  and  weeke  is  throwne  away: 
So,  when  he  had  resignd  his  regiment, 

His  daughter  gan  despise  his  drouping  day, 

And  wearie  wax  of  his  continuall  stay. 

Tho  to  his  daughter  Regan  he  repayrd, 

Who  him  at  first  well  used  every  way ; 

But  when  of  his  departure  she  despayrd, 

Her  bountie  she  abated,  and  his  cheare  empayrd. 

3 1 .  The  wretched  man  gan  then  avise  too  late, 
That  love  is  not  where  most  it  is  profest ; 
Too  truely  tryde  in  his  extremest  state. 

At  last,  resolv'd  likewise  to  prove  the  rest, 

He  to  Cordelia  him  selfe  addrest, 

Who  with  entyre  affection  him  receav'd, 

As  for  her  Syre  and  king  her  seemed  best; 

And  after  all  an  army  strong  she  leav'd, 

To  war  on  those  which  him  had  of  his  realme  bereav'd. 

G.  of  M.,  II,  11-14,  pp.  24  if.  Leir  came  to  the  throne. 
"  Cui  negata  masculini  sexus  prole,  natae  sunt  tantummodo 
tres  filia\e,  vocatae:  Gonorilla,  Regan,  Cordeilla  "  (//.  4  ~ff., 
p.  25).  Leir  "  cogitavit  regnum  suum  ipsis  dividere " 
(/.  8).  "  Sed  ut  sciret  quae  illarum  majore  regni  parte 
dignior  esset,  adivit  singulas  ut  interrogaret,  quae  ipsum 
magis  diligeret  "  (//.  10— n). 

Gonorilla's   answer  was,   "  patrem   sibi  plus  cordi   esse  1 
quam  animam,  quae  in  corpora  suo  degebat "  (/.  13). 

Regan's  answer  was,  "  se  nullatenus  conceptum  exprimere  ' 
aliter  posse,  nisi  quod  ipsum  super  omnes  creaturas  dili- 
geret "  (II.  18-19). 

Cordeilla's  answer  began,  "  Est  uspiam,  mi  pater,  filia,  ] 


COMPARISON  77 

quae  patrem  suum  plus  quam  patrem  diligere  praesumat  (/. 
24)"?  She  ended,  "  Etenim  quantum  habes,  tantum  vales, 
tantumque  te  diligo  "  (/.  30). 

Leir  expressed  his  anger  with  Cordeilla.  "  Nee  mora : 
consilio  procerum  regni  dedit  praedictas  puellas  duas  duobus 
ducibus,  Cornubiae  videlicet  et  Albaniae  cum  medietate  tan- 
tum insulae :  dum  ipse  viveret.  Post  obitum  autem  ejus 
totam  monarchiam  Britanniae  eisdem  concessit  habendam  " 
(p.  25  /.,  //.  41  if.). 

Afterward  Aganippus,  "  Francorum  rex,"  heard  of  the 
beauty  of  Cordeilla,  and  sought  and  obtained  her  hand  in 
marriage,  without  dowry. 

After  a  long  time,  when  Leir  had  grown  old,  the  dukes 
rebelled  against  him.  He  was  allowed  maintenance  with 
sixty  soldiers  at  the  house  of  Maglaunus,  duke  of  Albany 
and  husband  of  Conor  ilia.  Two  years  passed.  Then  the 
number  of  his  attendants  was  reduced  to  thirty.  He  went 
to  Regan,  whose  husband  was  Henvinus,  duke  of  Cornwall. 
Before  a  year  had  ended  she  reduced  the  number  of  his 
attendants  to  five.  He  returned  to  Gonorilla  and  was  cut 
down  to  one  attendant.  Thereupon  he  sought  help  from 
Cordeilla,  by  whose  aid  he  was  restored  to  his  kingdom. 
He  died  three  years  later. 

Hoi.,  Hist.,  pp.  19-20.  Holinshed  follows  Geoffrey  of 
Monmouth.  He  gives  the  names  as  Gonorilla,  Regan,  Cor- 
deilla, Maglanus,  Duke  of  Albania,  Henninus,  Duke  of 
Cornwall,  and  Aganippus,  "  one  of  the  twelve  Kyngs  that 
ruled  Gallia." 

Leir  decided  to  test  his  daughters,  -"  therefore  hee  firste 
asked  Gonorilla  the  eldest,  ho  we  well  shee  loued  him." 

Gonorilla  "  protested,  that  she  loued  him  MORE  THAN 
HER  OWNE  LIFE,  which  by  righte  and  reason  shoulde  be 
most  deere  vnto  hir." 

Regan  said,  "  that  she  loued  him  more  than  tong  could 
expresse,  and  farre  aboue  all  other  creatures  of  the  world." 

Cordeilla  answered,  "...  I  protest  vnto  you,  that 
I  haue  loued  you  euer,  and  shall  continually  while  I  Hue, 


78  SPENSER'S  BRITISH  CHRONICLE  HISTORY 

loue  you  as  my  naturall  father  .  .  ."  She  ends  with, 
".  .  .  so  much  as  you  haue,  so  much  you  are  worth, 
and  so  much  I  loue  you,  and  no  more." 

Leir  decreed  that  the  land  should  be  divided  between  the 
two  eldest  at  his  death,  "  and  the  one  halfe  thereof  imme- 
diately should  be  assigned  to  them  in  hande."  Aganippus 
married  Cordeilla  without  dower. 

"  But  to  proceede,  after  that  Leir  was  fallen  into  age,  the 
two  Dukes  that  had  married  his  two  eldest  daughters,  thinking 
long  ere  the  gouernemente  of  the  land  did  come  to  their  handes, 
arose  against  him  in  armour,  and  reft  from  him  the  gouernance 
of  the  land  vpon  conditions  to  be  continued  for  tearme  of  life : 
by  ye  whiche  he  was  put  to  his  portion,  that  is  to  Hue  after 
a  rate  assigned  to  him  for  the  maintenance  of  his  estate, 
whyche  in  proces  of  time  was  diminished  as  well  by  Maglanus, 
as  by  Henninus.  But  the  greatest  griefe  that  Leir  toke,  was 
to  see  the  vnkindnesse  of  his  daughters,  which  seemed  to 
thinke  that  all  was  too  much  which  their  father  hadde,  the 
same  being  neuer  so  little:  in  so  muche  that  going  from  ye 
one  to  y6  other,  he  was  brought  to  that  miserie,  that  unneth 
would  they  allow  him  one  seruaunt  to  waite  vpon  him." 

Hardyng,  ch.  26,  p.  53.  Leyr  had  three  daughters, 
Gonorella,  Ragan,  and  Cordelle. 

"  Emonges  theim,  as  Leyr  satte  on  a  daye, 
He  asked  theim  howe  muche  thei  hym  loued; 
Gonorell  saied  '  more  then  my  selfe  ay.' 
And  Ragan  saied  more  than  was  after  prouid, 
(For  joye  of  whiche  the  kyng  was  greately  moued) 
'  I  loue  you  more  then  all  this  worlde  so  f ayre : ' 

(He  graunted  theim  twoo,  of  thre  partes  to  bee  heire.)  " 
i 

Gonorell  married  "  Maglayn,   duke  of  Albanie." 

"  Euin  of  Walis,  and  of  Cornwayle  ther  by 
That  duke  was  of  those  twoo  landes  stoute, 
Ragan  wed  (did)  ;  to  whiche  twoo  dukes,  no  doubte, 
Kyng  Leyr  gaue  rule  and  gcniernaunce 
Of  all  Bryteine,  for  age  and  none  puissaunce." 


COMPARISON  79 


Caxton,  Chronicle,  ch.  12.  ".  .  .  but  first  he 
thought  to  assay  /  which  of  hem  loued  hym  moost  &  best  / 
for  she  that  loued  best  shold  best  ben  maryued  /  &  he  axed 
of  the  first  doughter  how  moche  she  him  loued.  &  she 
answered  and  seid  better  than  hir  own  lyf.  now  certes 
quod  the  father  that  is  a  grete  loue.  Tho  axed  he  of  the 
second  doughter  /  how  much  she  him  louid  &  she  said 
more  &  passyng  al  the  creatures  of  the  world  /  per  ma  foy 
qd  the  fadre  I  may  no  more  axe  /  &  tho  axed  he  of  the 
third  doughter  /  how  moche  she  him  loued  certes  fadre 
quod  she  my  sustres  haue  told  you  glosyng  wordes,  but  for- 
soth  I  shal  telle  trouth  /  for  I  loue  yow  as  moche  as  I 
ought  to  loue  my  fadre  /  &  for  to  bring  you  more  in  cer- 
tayn  how  I  loue  yow  /  I  shall  yow  telle  as  moch  as  ye  ben 
worthe  as  moche  shal  ye  be  loued."  Later,  Lear  says  that 
Cordelia  answered  that  "  she  louid  me  as  moch  as  she 
ought  to  loue  hir  fader  by  al  manere  of  reson.  .  .  ." 

The  proper  names  in  Caxton  are  as  follows:  Leyr, 
Gonoryll,  Rygau,  Cordeyl  (or  Cordeill),  Maugles  (or 
Managles),  kyng  of  Scotland,  Hauemos,  earl  of  Cornwall, 
Agampe,  kyng  of  France,  Morgan,  Conedage. 

Mir.  for  Mag.,  Queene  Cordilla,  st.  n,  vol.  I,  p.  126. 
In  the  middle  of  Cordilla's  answer  occurs  this  line, 

"  To  loue  you,  as  I  ought  my  father,  well." 
St.  13,  p.  127. 

"  And  eke  my  sister  Ragan  to  Hinniue  to  haue, 
And  for  her  dowry  Camber  and  Cornwall" 

Stow,  p.  10.  Stow's  account  of  Lear  is  very  brief. 
Lear  "  had  three  daughters,  Gonorill,  Regan,  and  Cordeilla, 
which  Cordeilla  for  her  vertue  and  wisedome  towards  her 
father,  succeeded  him  in  the  Kingdome." 

Warner,  Albions  England,  Bk.  I,  C.  14,  p.  65. 

"  About  a  thirtie  yeeres  and  fiue  did  Leir  rule  this  Land, 
When,  doting  on  his  daughters  three,  with  them  he  fell  in 
hand 


8o  SPENSER'S  BRITISH  CHRONICLE  HISTORY 

To  tell  how  much  they  loued  him.  The  Elders  did  esteeme 
Her  life  inferior  to  her  loue,  so  did  the  second  deeme: 
The  yongest  said  her  loue  was  such  as  did  a  child  behoue, 
And  that  how  much  himselfe  was  worth,  so  much  she  him 
did  loue." 

As  to  "  Cordelia," 

"  for  her  forme,  and  vertuous  life,  a  noble  Gallian  King 
Did  her,  vndowed,  for  his  Queene  into  his  Countrie  bring." 

Spenser's  story  of  King  Lear  follows  the  outline  of  Geof- 
frey's narrative,  but  shows  a  few  changes  in  details,  and 
such  variation  in  incidents  as  would  naturally  result  from 
an  endeavor  to  shorten  the  story  without  detracting  from 
its  interest.  Perhaps  to  accomplish  this  Spenser  substi- 
tuted the  immediate  division  of  the  kingdom  for  Geoffrey's 
partial  division,  which  was  not  to  be  followed  by  the  gift 
of  the  whole33  until  after  the  death  of  Lear.34  This 
abridgment  would  of  itself  have  necessitated  a  second 
change,  inasmuch  as  the  rebellion  against  Lear  would  no 
longer  be  a  necessary  step  toward  the  catastrophe.  The 
same  desire  for  brevity  would  have  led  Spenser  to  omit  the 
particulars  of  the  unnatural  conduct  of  Gonorilla  and 
Regan,  and  to  assign  the  whole  action  to  Lear's  old  age. 
So  far,  then,  as  the  choice  and  the  order  of  incidents  go, 
Spenser's  account  may  well  have  been  based  entirely  on 
Geoffrey's.  The  belief  that  it  was  so  based  is  confirmed 
by  the  verbal  similarity  that  appears  in  the  beginning  of  the 
story. 

The  possibility  still  remains  that  later  chronicles  influ- 
enced Spenser's  account  in  phrasing  and  detail.  The  an- 
swers of  the  three  daughters  at  once  attract  attention.  As 
they  stand  in  the  versions  of  the  story  that  are  most 
likely  to  have  influenced  Spenser  they  may  be  tabulated  as 
follows :  — 

33  "  To  tarn  monarchiam  Britanniae." 

34  See  also  Hardyng,  p.  78,  above. 


COMPARISON  8l 

Gonorill.     Spenser :  more  than  her  own  life. 

Geoffrey:   plus     .     .     .     quam   animam   quae   in   corpore 

suo  degebat. 

Hardyng :  more  them  myself  ay. 
Caxton :  better  than  hir  owne  lyf. 
Holinshed:  more  than  her  owne  life,  which  by  right  and 

reason  should  be  most  deere  vnto  hir. 
Warner :  The  elder  did  esteem  her  life  inferior  to  her  love. 
Regan.     Spenser:  Greater  love  to  him  profest 

Then  all  the  world. 
Geoffrey :  super  omnes  creaturas. 
Hardyng :  more  then  all  this  world  so  fayre. 
Caxton :  more  and  passyng  all  the  creatures  of  the  world. 
Holinshed :  far  aboue  all  other  creatures  of  the  world. 
Cordelia.     Spenser :  she  lov'd  him  as  behoov'd. 
Geoffrey :  Begins  with  a  question  and  is  long. 
Caxton :  I  loue  yow  as  moche  as  I  ought  to  loue  my  father. 
Holinshed :  loue  you  as  my  naturall  father. 
Warner:  The  youngest  said  her  loue  was  such  as  did  a 

childe  behoue. 

This  tabulation  shows  that  in  the  wording  of  the  first 
answer  Spenser  agrees  with  Holinshed,  in  that  of  the  sec- 
ond with  Hardyng,  and  in  that  of  the  third  with  Warner. 
The  coincidence  in  the  first  case  might  result  from  inde- 
pendent translations  of  Geoffrey's  Latin,  but  in  the  second 
case  this  seems  less  likely,  and  in  the  third  case  impossible. 
The  closing  sentence  of  Cordeilla's  answer  in  Geoffrey, 
"  Etenim  quantum  habes,  tantum  vales,  tantumque  diligo," 
is  repeated  in  all  the  versions  of  the  Lear  story  that  are  at 
all  full,  except  Warner's  and  Spenser's.  This,  when  taken 
in  connection  with  the  use  of  the  word  behooved  by  both 
poets,  seems  to  be  more  than  the  result  of  chance.35 

Again  an  influence  from  some  source  later  than  Geoffrey 

35  It  is  possible  that  both  Spenser  and  Warner  were  influenced  by 
Caxton's  simple,  "  I  loue  you  as  moche  as  I  ought  to  loue  my  father." 
Yet  the  coincidence  may  be  due  to  the  fact  that  both  poets  needed 
a  word  to  rhyme  with  love. 


82  SPENSER'S  BRITISH  CHRONICLE  .HISTORY 

appears  in  the  titles  of  the  husbands  of  Gonorilla  and 
Regan.  According  to  Geoffrey,  Holinshed,  and  most  of  the 
other  writers  they  are  dukes;  in  Spenser  they  are  kings. 
Furthermore,  according  to  most  versions,  Regan  marries 
the  ruler  of  Cornwall,  but  according  to  Spenser  she  mar- 
ries the  ruler  of  Cambria.  To  explain  both  these  changes 
Perrett  has  suggested  that  Spenser  had  in  mind  the  original 
division  of  the  kingdom  among  the  sons  of  Brutus.36  This 
explanation,  however,  loses  sight  of  the  fact  that  Spenser 
made  Locrine  "  the  soveraine  Lord  of  all "  and  never  ap- 
plied the  title  of  king  to  the  other  two  brothers.  It  neg- 
lects also  the  very  probable  influence  of  the  writers  who 
preceded  Spenser.  In  Hardyng  we  have  Regan  married  to 

"  Euin  of  Walis,  and  of  Cornwayle  ther  by 
That  duke  was  of  those  twoo  landes  stoute." 

And  Lear 

"  gave    rule   and   governaunce 
Of  all  Briteine  " 

to  his  two  sons-in-law.  Following  Hardyng  alone,  then, 
Spenser  might  by  anticipation  have  named  the  two  men  as 
kings,  because  of  the  royal  power  that  immediately  became 
theirs,  and  not  wishing  to  mention  both  Wales  and  Corn- 
wall, he  might  have  retained  Wales  as  the  more  important 
division  of  Britain  in  his  own  day.  The  name  he  would 
naturally  have  changed  to  Cambria,  especially  as  Hardyng 
later  speaks  of  Regan's  son  as  "  king  of  Cawbre  yt  Walis  is 
nowe."  A  tendency  to  do  this  would  have  been  strength- 
ened by  a  recollection  of  the  lines  in  the  Mirror  for  Magis- 
trates. 

"  And  eke  my  sister  Ragan  to  Hinniue  to  haue, 
And   for  her  dowry  Camber  and  Cornwall." 

Finally  we  have  the  fact  that  Caxton  calls  Maugles  "  kyng 
of  Scotland."  The  united  influence  of  these  statements  in 

30  See  Perrett,  Story  of  King  Lear,  p.  92. 


COMPARISON  83 

Hardyng,  Caxton,  and  the  Mirror  for  Magistrates  is  suffi- 
cient to  account  for  Spenser's  details. 

We  may  conclude,  then,  that  Spenser's  version  of  the 
Lear  story  is  in  general  outline  based  directly  on  Geoffrey's, 
which  by  condensation,  however,  is  somewhat  modified,  and 
that  it  is  influenced  in  phrasing  and  detail  by  Holinshed, 
Warner,  and  Hardyng,  and  perhaps  also  by  Caxton  and  the 
Mirror  for  Magistrates. 


32.  So  to  his  crowne  she  him  restord  againe ; 

In  which  he  dyde,  made  ripe  for  death  by  eld, 

And  after  wild  it  should  to  her  remaine, 

Who  peaceably  the  same  long  time  did  weld, 

And  all  mens  harts  in  dew  obedience  held; 

Till  that  her  sisters  children,  woxen  strong, 

Through  proud  ambition  against  her  rebeld, 

And  overcommen  kept  in  prison  long, 

Till  weary  of  that  wretched  life  her  selfe  she  hong. 

I 

G.  of  M.,  II,  15,  p.  28  /.  Cordeilla  ruled  five  years. 
Her  sisters'  sons  then  rebelled  against  her  and  put  her  in 
prison :  "  ubi  ob  amissionem  regni  dolore  obducta  sese  in- 
ter fecit "  (/.  12,  p.  29). 

Hoi.,  Hist.,  p.  20.  Cordeilla  ruled  five  years.  She  was 
then  imprisoned  by  her  sisters'  sons.  She  "  slew  hirselfe." 

Mir.  for  Mag.,  Queene  Cordila,  st.  47,  vol.  I,  p.  138. 
After  Despair  had  tempted  Cordila  in  vain  (pp.  134-139), 
he  killed  her  with  a  knife. 

The  only  variation  from  Geoffrey  in  this  part  of  the 
Lear  story  is  Spenser's  statement  that  Cordelia  hanged  her- 
self. Lasamon  says  that  she  killed  herself  with  a  knife,87 
with  which  weapon  also  she  is  slain  by  Despair  in  the  Mirror 
for  Magistrates.  The  usual  statement  is  the  simple  "  she 
slew  hirselfe."  Spenser  may  have  varied  the  mode  of  death 

37Lasamon's  Brut,  ed.  Madden,  vol.  I,  11.  3776-7,  p.  160. 


84  SPENSER'S  BRITISH  CHRONICLE  HISTORY 

because  hanging  seemed  to  him  more  tragic,38  or  through 
the  influence  of  Greek  tragedy,*  or  because  he  had  in  mind 
the  Mirror  for  Magistrates,  where  a  long  passage  that  de- 
scribes Cordelia's  death  is  devoted  chiefly  to  an  account  of 
the  temptation  of  the  imprisoned  Queen  by  Despair,  who 
offers  her  various  means  of  death  —  poison,  a  rope,  a  knife. 
It  is  only  after  she  has  refused  to  use  any  of  them  that 
he  seizes  the  knife  and  kills  her.  These  verses  certainly  in- 
fluenced Spenser  in  his  account  of  the  temptation  of  the 
Red  Cross  Knight  by  Despair,39  an  account  in  which  hang- 
ing is  curiously  emphasized.  Sir  Terwin,  when  he  appears, 
has  around  his  neck  a  rope  which  Despair  has  given  him. 
Then  Despair  offers  to  the  Red  Cross  Knight  "  swords, 
ropes,  poison,  fire."  In  the  end,  disappointed  of  his  prey, 
Despair 

"  chose  an  halter  from  among  the  rest, 
And  with  it  hong  himselfe,  unbid,  unblest." 

Since  death  by  hanging  is  so  conspicuous  in  a  passage  sug- 
gested at  least  in  part  by  the  temptation  of  Cordelia  in  the 
Mirror  for  Magistrates,  it  may  well  be  that  the  rope  which 
was  there  offered  to  her  remained  in  Spenser's  mind  and 
led  him  to  say  that  Cordelia  hanged  herself.  The  Mirror 
for  Magistrates,  then,  with  Geoffrey's  Historia,  would  seem 
to  have  been  the  source  of  Spenser's  stanza. 


33.  Then  gan  the  bloody  brethren  both  to  raine ; 
But  fierce  Cundah  gan  shortly  to  envy 

38  This  is  not  the  only  case  where  Spenser  has  substituted  hanging 
for  some  other  death.     In  the  Faerie  Queene,  I,  5,  50,  we  have 
"  Faire   Sthenoboea,  that  herself  did  choke 
With  wilful  cord,  for  wanting  of  her  will." 

According  to  classical  '"story  she  drank  poison  (Aristoph.,  Ran., 
1082).  In  the  Faerie  Queene,  III,  3,  36,  Pellite  was  hanged,  although 
according  to  Geoffrey,  Holinshed,  and  others,  he  was  stabbed.  See 
pp.  158-162,  below. 

*  This  is  the  suggestion  of  Professor  J.  Douglas  Bruce. 

"Faerie  Queene,  I,  g,  50-51.  See  Warton,  Hist.  Eng.  Poetry,  ed. 
Hazlitt,  IV,  196: 


COMPARISON  85 

His  brother  Morgan,  prickt  with  proud  disdaine 
To  have  a  pere  in  part  of  soverainty ; 
And  kindling  coles  of  cruell  enmity, 
Raisd  warre,  and  him  in  batteill  overthrew, 
Whence  as  he  to  those  woody  hilles  did  fly, 
Which  hight  of  him  Glamorgan,  there  him  slew : 
Then  did  he  raigne  alone,  when  he  none  equall  knew. 

G.  of  M.,  II,  15,  p.  29.  Marganus,  son  of  Maglaunus, 
and  Cunedagius,  son  of  Henvinus,  shared  the  kingdom  of 
Cordeilla.  After  two  years  Marganus  attacked  Cunedagius, 
but  he  was  defeated,  pursued,  and  killed  "  in  pago  Kam- 
briae,  qui  post  interfectionem  Margani  ejus  nomine  videlicet 
Margan  hucusque  a  pagensibus  appellatus  est.  Potitus 
itaque  Cunedagius  victoria  monarchiam  totius  insulae  adep- 
tus  est,  eamque  triginta  tribus  annis  gloriose  tractavit "  (II. 

25  /?.). 

Hoi.,  Hist.,  pp.  20  and  27  (sic).  Cunedagius  (or  Cune- 
dag)  and  Marganus  (or  Margan)  nephews  of  Cordeilla, 
shared  the  kingdom.  After  two  years  Margan  attacked 
Cunedag,  but  he  was  defeated,  pursued,  and  killed  in  Cam- 
bria: ".  .  .  he  was  there  ouercome  &  slaine  in  ye 
field,  by  reason  whereof,  yt  countrey  tooke  name  of  him, 
being  there  slaine,  and  so  is  called  to  this  day  Glau  Margaw, 
which  is  to  meane  in  our  English  tong  Margans  land." 

Hardyng,  ch.  29,  p.  $$. 

"  Cowdage  was  kyng  of  (Cawbre,  y*  Walis  is  nowe) 

******** 
At  Glomorgane,  with  Morgan  did  he  meete, 
In  bataill  sleugh  hym,  there  casten  vnder  fete." 

Poly  chronic  on  (Trevisa),  Rolls  Series,  III,  p.  41. 
Cunedagius  "  slow^  Morgan,  fat  was  rebel  ajenst  hem,  in 
Glamorgan  in  Wales,  and  by  cause  of  Pat  happe  fat  con- 
tray  is  sit  i-cleped  Morgans  londes." 


86  SPENSER'S  BRITISH  CHRONICLE  HISTORY 

Graf  ton,  p.  37. 

"  Which  field  or  Country  where  the  said  Morgan  fought, 
and  was  slaine,  is  to  this  day  called  Glamargan,  which  is  as 
much  to  say,  as  Morgans  land." 

Caxton,  ch.  14.     Morgan  and  Conedage. 

Mir.  for  Mag.,  King  Morgan,  st.  14,  vol.  I,  p.  146. 

"  And  for  to  keepe  in  memory  for  aye 
That  there  vnfaythfull  Morgan  lost  his  life, 
The  place  is  cal'd  Glamorgan  to  this  daye." 

Stow,  p.  10.  "Morgan,  the  eldest  Sonne  of  Dame  Gono- 
rilla,  claimed  Britaine,  and  warred  on  his  nephew  Cunedagius, 
that  was  king  of  Camber  (that  is  now  Wales)  and  of  Corn- 
wall, but  Cunedagius  met  with  Morgan  in  Wales,  and  there 
slew  him:  which  place  is  called  Glamorgan  till  this  day.  And 
then  Cunedagius  was  King  of  all  Brytaine." 

Spenser  agrees  with  Geoffrey  in  the  sequence  and  form  of 
the  two  statements,  ( i )  that  a  country  in  Wales  was  named 
after  Morgan,  and  (2)  that  Cundah,  after  the  defeat  of  his 
brother,  reigned  alone.40  'But  the  names  of  both  brothers 
show  the  influence  of  later  chronicles,  as  does  also  the  name 
Glamorgan.  Cundah  seems  to  be  a  shortened  form  of  the 
Cunedag  of  Holinshed,  or  of  the  Conedage  of  Caxton,  or 
of  the  Cowdage  of  Hardyng,  while  Morgan  is  to  be  found 
in  Caxton  and  Grafton,  and  both  Morgan  and  Glamorgan 
are  given  in  Hardyng,  the  Poly  chronic  on,  the  Mirror  for 
Magistrates,  and  Stow.  As  Geoffrey  does  not  give  the 
name  Glamorgan  in  any  form,  and  as  Holinshed  renders 
it  Glau  Margan,  Spenser  has  clearly  modified  Geoffrey's  ac- 
count without  following  Holinshed.  His  modification  may 
have  come  from  any  one  of  several  sources,  or  from  the  com- 
bined influence  of  them  all.  At  the  same  time,  the  founda- 
tion of  the  story  remains  the  narrative  in  Geoffrey. 

40  Stow  has  a  similar  sequence  and  phrasing,  but  does  not  give  au- 
thority for  Spenser's  first  line. 


COMPARISON  87 

34.  His  sonne  Rivall'  his  dead  rowme  did  supply; 
In  whose  sad  time  blood  did  from  heaven  rayne. 

G.  of  M.,  II,  1 6,  pp.  29-30.  Rivallo,  son  of  Cunedagius, 
succeeded  him.  In  his  time  it  rained  blood  three  days  to- 
gether, and  there  fell  vast  swarms  of  flies,  followed  by  a 
great  mortality  among  the  people. 

Hoi.,  Hist.,  p.  27.  Riuallon,  or  Ryuall,41  son  of  Cune- 
dag,  succeeded  him,  and  ruled  forty-six  years.  During  his 
time  it  rained  blood  three  days,  and  afterwards  there  were 
many  flies,  and  many  people  died. 

Hardyng,  ch.  30,  p.  56.  Hardyng  speaks  of  the  flies,  and 
continues :  — 

"  And  rayned  bloodde  the  same  .III.  dayes  also, 
Create  people  dyed,  the  land  to  mykell  woo." 

Grafton,  p.  37.  There  was  a  rain  of  blood  and  then 
flies  came.  "And  after  (as  sayth  an  olde  Aucthor)  en- 
sued great  sicknesse  and  mortalitie,  to  the  great  desolation 
of  this  land." 

Stow,  p.  10. 

"Riuallus,  Sonne  of  Cunedagius,  succeeded  his  father,  in 
whose  time  it  rained  blood  three  claies :  after  which  tempest, 
ensued  a  great  multitude  of  venemous  flies  .  .  ." 

These  two  lines  bear  a  strong  resemblance  to  Stow's  ac- 
count of  the  reign  of  Rivallus,  and  both  Stow  and  Spenser 
reproduce  Geoffrey's  account.  Spenser's  "  sad  time  "  may, 
however,  reflect  Hardyng's  "  the  land  to  mykell  woo."  Yet 
the  facts  in  Geoffrey  would  be  in  themselves  a  sufficient  jus- 
tification for  Spenser's  adjective.  It  is  not  necessary  to 
assume  any  other  source  than  the  Historia. 


34,  //.  3-6.     Next  great  Gurgustus,  then  faire  Csecily, 
In  constant  peace  their  kingdomes  did  contayne. 
After  whom  Lago,  and  Kinmarke  did  rayne, 
And  Gorbogud,  till  far  in  years  he  grew : 

41  In  the  1587  edition  (vol.  I,  Hist,  of  Eng.,  p.  14)  the  forms  Riuallus 
and  Riuall  are  used. 


88  SPENSER'S  BRITISH  CHRONICLE  HISTORY 

G.  ofM.,II,  1 6, //.  4  #.,/>.  29. 

"  Post  hunc  (Cunedagius)  vero  successit  Gurgustius  filius 
ejus:  cui  Sisillius:  cui  Lago  Gurgustii  nepos :  cui  Kinmarcus  42 
Sisillii  filius:  post  hunc  Gorbodug.  Huic  nati  fuerunt  duo 
filii :  quorum  unus  Ferrex  alter  Porrex  nuncupabatur." 

Hoi.,  Hist.,  p.  27  and  p.  22  (sic).  Succession  of  kings: 
Gurgustius ;  Sysillius  or  Siluius,  brother  of  Gurgustius,  who 
"  in  the  English  chronicle  is  named  SeSil ;  "  lago  or  Lago, 
cousin  of  Gurgustius;  Kinimachus  or  Kinmarus  (in  mar- 
gin, Kinimak),  "son  of  Sycillius;"  Gorbodug,  son  of 
Kinimachus. 

"Robert  of  Gloucester,"  I.  903,  sicille:  Robert  Manning 
of  Brunne,  I.  2632,  Cycyllius,  /.  2633,  Cycilly:  Hardyng, 
ch.  30,  p.  56,  Scicilius:  Fabyan,  p.  17,  "  Cecilius  or  after 
some  wryters  Siluius  .  .  .  This  in  the  Englysshe 
Boke  is  named  Seyzill :  "  Stow,  p.  10,  Scicilius. 

Spenser's  account  of  the  five  kings  who  ruled  after  Ri- 
vallo  seems  to  be  nothing  more  than  a  re-phrasing  of  Geof- 
frey's. Three  of  the  names,  Gurgustus,  Caecily,  and  Gor- 
bogud,  are  slightly  different  from  what  we  should  expect 
from  Geoffrey's  Latin,  yet  do  not  seem  to  have  been  af- 
fected by  the  later  chroniclers,  except  for  Caecily,  which  is 
noticeably  similar  to  the  Cycilly  in  Robert  Manning  of 
Brunne,  a  form  which  may  have  been  preserved  in  some 
of  the  chronicles  which  Spenser  knew.  At  least  Spenser 
must  have  been  influenced  by  the  spellings  in  older  chron- 
icles such  as  Fabyan's.  The  three  syllable  form,  however, 
and  likewise  the  names  Gurgustus  and  Gorbogud,  may  re- 
sult from  Spenser's  changes  for  euphony  and  for  conven- 
ience in  versification. 


34,  //.  7  if.     Then  his  ambitious  sonnes  unto  them  twayne 
Arraught  the  rule,  and  from  their  father  drew; 
Stout  Ferrex  and  sterne  Porrex  him  in  prison  threw. 

42  In  the  editions  of  1508  and  1517,  Kinimacus. 


COMPARISON  89 


35.  But  O !  the  greedy  thirst  of  royall  crowne, 
That  knowes  no  kinred,  nor  regardes  no  right, 
Stird  Porrex  up  to  put  his  brother  downe ; 
Who,  unto  him  assembling  forreigne  might, 
Made  warre  on  him,  and  fell  him  selfe  in  fight : 
Whose  death  t'avenge,  his  mother  mercilesse, 
Most  mercilesse  of  women,  Wyden  hight, 
Her  other  sonne  fast  sleeping  did  oppresse, 
And  with  most  cruell  hand  him  murdred  pittilesse. 

G.  of  Ml,  //_,  1 6,  p.  29  /.  "  Cum  autem  in  senium 
vergeret  pater,  orta  est  contentio  inter  eos,  uter  eorum  in 
regno  succederet  "  (/.  8  /.).  Porrex  designed  to  kill  Fer- 
rex  treacherously.  Ferrex  escaped  and  sought  aid  of  the 
Franks.  He  returned  with  an  army,  and  was  defeated  and 
killed.  The  mother  of  the  two  brothers,  "  cui  nomen 
Widen"  (p.  30.  /.  15),  in  revenge  slew  Porrex  while  he 
slept,  and  with  the  .help  of  her  women  tore  him  into  pieces. 

Hoi.,  Hist.,  p.  22.  Ferrex  and  Porrex  inherited  the 
kingdom  and  quarreled  for  supremacy.  Ferrex  fled  to 
Gallia,  and  having  obtained  help,  returned  to  England, 
where  in  battle  with  Porrex  he  was  slain.  The  English 
chronicle  says  that  it  was  Porrex  who  fled  to  France,  and 
Ferrex  who  survived.  "  But  whether  of  them  so  euer 
suruiued,  the  mother  of  them  was  so  highly  offended  for 
the  deathe  of  him  that  was  slayne,  whome  she  most  en- 
tierly  loued,  that  setting  aparte  all  motherly  affection,  she 
found  meanes  to  enter  the  chamber  of  him  that  suruiued, 
in  the  night  season,  and  as  hee  slept,  she  with  helpe  of  hir 
maidens  slue  him,  and  cut  him  into  small  peeces,  as  the 
writers  doe  affirme." 

Spenser  reproduces  in  a  brief  form  the  essential  points 
of  Geoffrey's  account  of  Ferrex  and  Porrex.  His  only 
variation  is  the  apparently  unauthorized  statement  that  the 
two  sons  imprisoned  their  father.  They  quarreled,  accord- 
ing to  Geoffrey,  during  the  lifetime  of  their  father,  but  ac- 


90  SPENSER'S  BRITISH  CHRONICLE  HISTORY 

cording  to  Holinshed,  after  his  death.  Spenser's  story  is 
manifestly  nearer  to  Geoffrey's  than  to  Holinshed's.  In- 
deed, his  variation  may  be  an  inference  to  explain  the  fate 
of  the  father,  which  Geoffrey  leaves  in  obscurity.  There 
is  no  evidence  that  Spenser  was  influenced  by  any  authority 
other  than  Geoffrey. 


36.  Here  ended  Brutus  sacred  progeny, 

Which  had  seven  hundred  yeares  this  scepter  borne 

With  high  renowme  and  great  felicity : 

The  noble  braunch  from  th'  antique  stocke  was  torne 

Through  discord,  and  the  roiall  throne  forlorne. 

Thenceforth  this  Realme  was  into  factions  rent, 

Whilest  each  of  Brutus  boasted  to  be  borne, 

That  in  the  end  was  left  no  moniment 

Of  Brutus,  nor  of  Britons  glorie  auncient. 

G.  of  M.,  II,  1 6,  p.  30.  After  the  death  of  Porrex  there 
was  civil  war  for  a  long  time,  and  the  island  became  divided 
under  five  kings. 

Hoi,  Hist.,  p.  22. 

"  After  this  folowed  a  troubleous  season,  full  of  cruell 
warre,  &  seditious  discord,  whereby  in  the  ende,  and  for  the 
space  of  fiftie  yeres,  the  gouernemente  of  the  Ilande  was 
deuided  betwixt  fiue  Kings  or  rulers,  till  Dunwallon  of  Corne- 
wall  ouercame  them  all.  Thus  the  line  of  Brute,  after  the 
affirmance  of  most  writers,  tooke  an  end  .  .  ." 

Holinshed  quotes  the  Polychronicon  as  saying  that  the 
rule  of  Donuallo  was  703  years  after  Brutus  entered  Brit- 
ain. 

Stow,  p.  10. 

"  Thus  cruelly  was  the  blood  and  house  of  Brute  destroied, 
when  this  Realme  by  the  space  of  616  yeeres  had  beene  gov- 
erned by  that  lynage. 


COMPARISON  91 

"After,  this  Realme  was  diuided  with  ciuill  warres,  for 
lacke  of  one  soueraigne  gouernour  vntill  Dunwallo  reduced 
the  same  into  one  Monarchic." 

Tragedy  of  Gorboduc,  Act  V,  Sc.  2,  //.  180  ff. 

"  Loe  here  the  end  of  Brutus  royall  line, 

And  loe  the  entry  to  the  wofull  wracke 

And  vtter  ruine  of  this  noble  realme ! 

The  royall  king  and  eke  his  sonnes  are  slaine, 

No  ruler  rests  within  the  regall  seate, 

The  heire,  to  whom  the  scepter  longes,  unknowen; 

That  to  eche  force  of  forreine  princes  power 

Whom  vauntage  of  our  wretched  state  may  moue 

By  sodeine  armes  to  gaine  so  riche  a  realme, 

And  to  the  proud  and  gredie  minde  at  home 

Whom  blinded  lust  to  reigne  leades  to  aspire, 

Loe,  Brittaine  realme  is  left  an  open  pray, 

A  present  spoyle  by  conquest  to  ensue ! " 

Warner,  Albions  England,  p.  68. 

"  And  thus   from  noble  Brute  his  line  the  scepter  then  did 

passe : 
When  of  his  bloud  for  to  succeede  no  heire  suruiuing  was." 

Here  Spenser  has  made  two  additions  to  Geoffrey's  nar- 
rative :  the  first,  that  the  line  of  Brutus  ended  with  Ferrex 
and  Porrex,  and  the  second,  that  the  progeny  of  Brutus 
ruled  700  years.  The  first  statement  has  ample  authority 
in  Holinshed  and  Stow.  The  second  seems  to  be  based  on 
the  figures  in  the  Poly  chronic  on,  quoted  by  Holinshed,  ac- 
cording to  which  the  accession  of  Dunwallo  was  703  years 
after  the  arrival  of  Brutus.  Spenser  may  have  identified 
the  accession  of  the  new  line  with  the  end  of  the  old,  and  so 
have  spoken  of  the  700  years  that  the  line  of  Brutus  reigned. 
But,  while  both  additions  to  Geoffrey's  story  may  thus  be 
accounted  for  by  Holinshed,  Spenser's  expansion  of  this 
part  of  his  story  and  his  emotional  treatment  of  it,  in  strong 
contrast  with  Warner's  brevity,  suggest  an  influence  from 
the  lament  of  Eubulus  in  the  Tragedy  of  Gorboduc.  To 
this  lament  Spenser's  lines  bear  a  decided  resemblance. 


92  SPENSER'S  BRITISH  CHRONICLE  HISTORY 

For  this  reason  the  Tragedy  of  Gorboduc  as  well  as  Holins- 
hed  should  be  counted  as  a  source  of  this  stanza. 


37.  Then  up  arose  a  man  of  matchlesse  might, 
And  wondrous  wit  to  menage  high  affayres, 
Who,  stird  with  pitty  of  the  stressed  plight 
Of  this  sad  realme,  cut  into  sondry  shayres 

By  such  as  claymd  themselves  Brutes  right  full  hay  res, 

Gathered  the  Princes  of  the  people  loose 

To  taken  counsell  of  their  common  cares; 

Who,  with  his  wisedom  won,  him  streight  did  choose 

Their  king,  and  swore  him  fealty  to  win  or  loose. 

38.  Then  made  he  head  against  his  enimies, 
And  Ymner  slew  of  Logris  miscreate; 
Then  Ruddoc  and  proud  Stater,  both  allyes, 
This  of  Albany  newly  nominate, 

And  that  of  Cambry  king  confirmed  late, 

He  overthrew  through  his  owne  valiaunce ; 

Whose  countries  he  redus'd  to  quiet  state, 

And  shortly  brought  to  civile  governaunce, 

Now  one,  which  earst  were  many  made  through  variaunce. 

39.  Then  made  he  sacred  lawes,  which  some  men  say 
Were  unto  him  reveald  in  vision ; 

By  which  'he  freed  the  Travellers  high-way, 

The  Churches  part,  and  Ploughmans  portion, 

RESTRAINING  STEALTH  AND  STRONG  EXTORTION, 

The  gratious  Numa  of  great  Britany; 

For  till  his  dayes,  the  chiefe  dominion 

By  strength  was  wielded  without  pollicy : 

Therefore  HE  FIRST  WORE  CROWNE  OF  GOLD  FOR  DIGNITY. 

G.  of  M.,  II,  17,  pp.  30-31.  Dunvallo  Molmutius,  son 
of  Cloten,  King  of  Cornwall,  killed  Ymner,  King  of 
Loegria,  in  battle.  Rudaucus,  King  of  Kambria,  and 
Staterius,  King  of  Albania,  combined  against  Dunvallo, 


COMPARISON  93 

but  were  defeated  and  slain.  Dunvallo  conquered  the 
whole  island,  and  "  fecit  sibi  diadema  ex  auro  "  (p.  31,  /. 
25).  He  established  the  Molmutine  laws,  and  gave  right 
of  sanctuary  to  temples  and  cities  and  roads  leading  to 
them,  and  also  to  husbandmen's  ploughs. 

HoL,  Hist.,  p.  23.  Dunuallo  (or  Donuallo)  Mulmucius, 
son  of  Cloton,  got  the  rule  over  all  Britain.  Holinshed  has 
previously  named  the  five  kings  of  the  island  (p.  22)  ; 
Rudacus,  King  of  Wales,  Clotenus,  King  of  Cornewall, 
Pinnor,  King  of  Loegria,  Staterus,  King  of  Albania,  and 
Yewan,  King  of  Northumberlande. 

Dunuallo  had  made  a  crown  of  gold,  and  was  the  first 
to  wear  one,  so  by  some  he  is  called  the  first  king.  A  mar- 
ginal note  (p.  23),  emphasizes  this:  "THE  FIRST  KING 

THAT  WAS  CROWNED  WITH  A  GOLDEN   CROWNE." 

Dunuallo  made  the  Mulmutius  laws.  "  Moreouer,  this 
Mulmutius  gaue  priuileges  to  Temples,  to  ploughes,  to 
Cities,  and  to  high  wayes  leading  to  the  same,  so  that  who- 
soeuer  fled  to  them,  should  be  in  safegard  from  bodily 
harme,  and  from  thence  he  might  depart  into  what  coun- 
trey  he  would  .  .  .  AND  FURTHER  HE  DEUISED  SORE 


Caxton,  ch.  20. 

"  How  donebaud  was  fiyrste  kynge  that  euer  wered  crowne 
of  gold  in  Brytayne." 

Hardyng,  ch.  31,  p.  60.  Names  of  the  kings  subdued  by 
Dunwallo,  "  Pynner,  in  Logres  intrusour,"  Ruddan,  and 
Stater. 

"  Dunwallo  so  called  Moluncius, 

At  Troynouaunt,  with  royall  diademe 

Of  gold  crouned,  moost  riche  and  precious, 

Vpon  his  hede  as  did  hym  well  besene. 

The  first  he  was,  as  chronicles  expreme, 

That   in   this   isle   of  Brytein  had  croune  of   golde, 

For  all  afore  copre  and  gilt  was  to  beholde." 


94  SPENSER'S  BRITISH  CHRONICLE  HISTORY 

Mir.  for  Mag.,  King  Pinnar,  st.  4,  vol.  I,  p.  173. 

"  I  did  my  selfe  at  last  into  the  throne  intrude." 
Pinnar  is  given  a  bad  character. 

Spenser,  in  his  account  of  Dunwallo,  closely  follows 
Geoffrey's  Historia,  and  yet  in  three  points  shows  the  in- 
fluence of  the  later  chroniclers.  He  agrees  with  Holins- 
hed  in  his  reference  to  the  special  laws  against  stealing;  he 
accepts  the  statement  in  Caxton,  Hardyng,  and  Holinshed 
that  Dunwallo  was  the  first  king  in  Britain  who  ever  wore 
a  crown  of  gold ;  43  and  like  Hardyng  and  the  Mirror  for 
Magistrates,  he  gives  Ymner  an  evil  reputation.  Spenser 
also  adds  details,  such  as  the  gathering  of  the  princes  to 
choose  Dunwallo,  and  Dunwallo's  title,  the  "  Numa  of  great 
Britany."  Such  details,  however,  are  of  a  nature  to  give 
vividness  to  the  narration,  and  may  well  be  of  Spenser's 
invention,  stimulated  by  his  interest  in  this  king,  whose 
reign  he  describes  in  unusually  vigorous  stanzas.  For  this 
reason  the  only  sources  outside  of  Geoffrey  which  we  need 
to  assume  are  Hardyng  or  the  Mirror  for  Magistrates,  and 
Holinshed. 


40.  Donwallo  dyde,  (for  what  may  live  for  ay?) 

And  left  two  sonnes,  of  pearelesse  prowesse  both, 

That  sacked  Rome  too  dearely  did  assay, 

The  recompence  of  their  perjured  oth; 

And  ransackt  Greece  wel  tryde,  when  they  were  wroth; 

Besides  subjected  France  and  Germany, 

Which  yet  their  praises  speake,  all  be  they  loth, 

And  inly  tremble  at  the  memory 

Of  Brennus  and  Belinus,  kinges  of  Britany. 

43  Geoffrey  says  only  that  Dunwallo  had  made  for  himself  a  crown 
of  gold.  We  may  infer  from  this,  as  the  later  chroniclers  did,  that 
it  was  the  first  gold  crown  in  Britain,  or  we  may  infer  with  equal 
plausibility  that  it  was  made  to  replace  the  crown  of  the  previous 
monarchs,  lost  during  the  civil  wars. 


COMPARISON  95 

G.  of  M.,  Ill,  i-io,  pp.  31  if.  The  first  seven  chapters 
relate  the  strife  between  the  two  sons  of  Dunvallo,  Bren- 
nius 44  and  Belinus.  Finally  Brennius  became  Duke  of 
the  Allobroges.  The  two  brothers  then  subdued  Gaul  and 
marched  to  Rome.  They  made  a  treaty  with  the  Romans 
and  invaded  Germany.  The  Romans  broke  the  treaty. 
Brennius  then  marched  on  Rome,  while  Belinus  remained 
in  Germany.  When  Belinus  heard  that  the  Romans  were 
about  to  intercept  Brennius,  he  marched  to  his  assistance. 
He  conquered  the  Romans  and  joined  Brennius  in  the 
siege  of  Rome.  In  a  battle  before  the  city  the  brothers  lost 
heavily,  but  were  in  the  end  victorious.  Rome  surren- 
dered, Brennius  remained  to  rule  Italy,  and  Belinus  re- 
turned to  Britain. 

HoL,  Hist.,  pp.  23,  24,  25,  42,  27,  and  21  (sic).  Bren- 
nus  and  Belinus  conquered  Germany  and  together  attacked 
Rome.  The  story  for  the  most  part  follows  Geoffrey,  but 
there  is  no  mention  of  the  broken  treaty.  Of  the  conquest 
of  Greece  Holinshed  says  (p.  27),  "  .  .  .  Brennus, 
the  which  .  .  .  was  a  Brytain,  and  brother  to  Beline 
(as  before  is  mentioned)  although  I  know  that  many  other 
writers  are  not  of  that  mind,  affyrming  him  to  be  a  Gaul, 
and  likewise  that  after  this  present  time  of  the  taking  of 
Rome  by  this  Brennus  no  yeares,  or  there  aboutes,  there 
was  another  Brennus  a  Gaull  also  by  Nation  (say  they) 
vnder  whose  conduct  an  other  armie  of  the  Gaulles  inuaded 
Grecia,  whiche  Brennus  had  a  brother  that  hight  Belgius, 
although  Humfrey  LLhuyd  and  sir  John  Price  doo  flatlie 
denie  the  same,  by  reason  of  some  discordance  in  writers, 
and  namely  in  the  computation  of  the  yeares  set  downe  by 
them  that  haue  recorded  the  doings  of  those  times,  whereof 
the  error  is  growen.  Howbeit  I  doubt  not  but  that  the 
truth  of  this  matter  shall  be  more  fully  sifted  out  in  time  by 
the  learned  and  studious  of  such  antiquities." 

Stow,  p.  n.  "Wherefore,  while  the  Macedons  being 
beaten,  kept  them  within  the  walls  of  their  Cities,  Brennus 

44  In  the  edition  of  1517,  Brennus. 


96  SPENSER'S  BRITISH  CHRONICLE  HISTORY 

like  a  Conqueror,  against  whom,  no  man  durst  shew  his 
head  to  make  resistance,  forraged  all  the  lies  of  Macedon. 
And  from  thence,  as  though  those  booties  and  spoyles 
seemed  too  base  and  simple  in  his  eye,  he  turned  his  minde 
to  the  Temples  of  the  gods,  scoffing  that  the  gods  were 
rich,  and  ought  to  depart  liberally  to  men."  Stow  contin- 
ues with  a  full  description  of  the  visit  which  Brennus  made 
to  Delphos. 

In  Spenser's  brief  but  appreciative  account  of  Brennus 
and  Belinus  there  is  again  evidence  of  the  fusion  of  the 
Historia  and  the  later  chronicles.  Only  in  Geoffrey  is  the 
story  of  the  broken  treaty  told  at  length  and  with  sufficient 
detail  to  suggest  Spenser's  lines, 

"  That  sacked  Rome  too  dearely  did  assay, 
The  recompence  of  their  perjured  oth." 

And  only  in  later  writers  is  there  any  mention  of  the  con- 
quest of  Greece.  This  Spenser  could  have  found  in 
Fabyan,45  Grafton,40  the  Mirror  for  Magistrates*'*  and 
Stow.  Holinshed  also  speaks  of  it,  though  in  so  argumen- 
tative a  manner  as  to  make  his  influence  doubtful.  Prob- 
ably the  agreement  of  these  writers,  rather  than  the  in- 
fluence of  any  single  one  of  them,  accounts  for  Spenser's 
inclusion  of  the  non-Gal fridian  material  in  a  stanza  which 
of  necessity  omitted  much  of  the  original  story. 


41.  Next  them  did  Gurgiunt,48  great  Belinus  sonne, 
In  rule  succeede,  and  eke  in  fathers  praise; 
He  Easterland  subdewd,  and  Denmarke  wonne, 
And  of  them  both  did  foy  and  tribute  raise, 
The  which  was  dew  in  his  dead  fathers  daies  : 
He  also  gave  to  fugitives  of  Spayne, 


«p.  24. 
" 


P.  45- 

47  Vol.  I,  pp.  198  ff. 

48  So  ed.  1590;  in  1596,  "  Gurgunt." 


COMPARISON  97 

Whom  he  at  sea  found  wandring  from  their  waies, 

A  seate  in  Ireland  safely  to  remayne, 

Which  they  SHOULD  HOLD  OF  HIM,  AS  SUBJECT  to  Britayne. 

G.  of  M.,  Ill,  11-12,  pp.  39-40.  Gurgiunt  Brabtruc  suc- 
ceeded his  father  Belinus.  He  conquered  the  neighboring 
provinces  that  rebelled  against  him,  and  forced  the  king  of 
the  Dacians  to  continue  to  pay  the  tribute  and  homage 
which  he  had  paid  to  Belinus.  On  his  way  home  from  the 
conquest  of  Dacia  he  found  among  the  Orkney  Islands 
thirty  ships,  on  board  of  which  were  refugees  from  Spain. 
The  leader  spoke  with  Gurgiunt.  "  Dicebat  autem  se  ex 
partibus  Hispaniarum  expulsnni  fuisse  .  .  .  Petebat 
.  .  .  ne  odiosum  iter  mans  diutius  pererraret:  Annus 
enim  cum  dimidio  jam  elapsus  fuerat,  ex  quo  patria  sua 
pulsus  per  Oceanum  cum  sociis  navigaverai  "  (ch.  12,  //.  5 


HoL,  Hist.,  p.  21.  Gurguyntus  (or  Gurguint)  recon- 
quered Denmark  because  tribute  was  refused  to  him.  He 
fell  in  with  the  people  banished  from  Spain.  They  "  had 
sayled  long  on  the  Sea,  to  the  ende  to  finde  some  Prince 
that  woulde  assigne  to  them  a  place  of  habitation  vnto 
whom  they  would  BECOME  SUBIECTS,  &  HOLD  OF  HIM  as  of 
theyr  soueraigne  gouernour."  Gurguint  settled  them  in 
Ireland. 

HoL,  ed.  1587,  vol.  II,  First  Inhabitation  of  Ireland,  p.  58. 

".  .  .  certeine  merchants  of  Norwaie,  Denmarke,  and  of 
other  those  parties,  called  Ostomanni,  or  (as  in  our  vulgar 
language  we  tearme  them)  Easterlings,  bicause  they  lie  East 
in  respect  of  us  .  .  ." 

The  marginal  note  reads  :  "  Easterlings  began  to  trade 
into  Ireland." 

Caxton,  ch.  24. 

"  &  the  kynge  of  denmarke  wolde  not  paye  hym  his  truage. 
that  is  to  saye  a  .M.  pounde  /  as  he  had  sworn  by  othe  for  to 
paye  it  /  &  also  by  writing  recorded  to  belyn  his  fader." 


98  SPENSER'S  BRITISH  CHRONICLE  HISTORY 

Spenser's  account  of  Gurgiunt  closely  follows  Geoffrey's 
even  in  phrasing,  but  adds  the  conquest  of  Easterland  and 
the  statement  that  Ireland  was  to  be  held  "  as  subject  to 
Britayne."  For  the  conquest  of  Easterland  there  seems  to 
be  no  authority.  The  name  itself  may  be  derived  from  the 
name  of  the  people  mentioned  by  Holinshed,  "  the  Osto- 
manni  or  ...  Easterlings." 49  The  statement 
that  Ireland  was  to  be  subject  to  Britain  seems  certainly 
based  on  Holinshed.50  Holinshed  and  Geoffrey,  therefore, 
were  apparently  Spenser's  sources  for  everything  in  this 
stanza  except  the  reference  to  Easterland. 


42.  After  him  raigned  Guitheline  his  hayre, 
The  justest  man  and  trewest  in  his  daies, 
Who  had  to  wife  Dame  Mertia  the  fay  re, 
A  woman  worthy  of  immortall  praise, 
Which  for  this  Realme  found  many  goodly  layes, 
And  wholesome  Statutes  to  her  husband  brought. 
Her  many  deemd  to  have  beene  of  the  Fayes, 
As  was  Aegerie  that  Numa  tought : 
Those    yet    of    her    be    Mertian    lawes    both    nam'd    and 
thought. 

G.  of  M.,  Ill,  13,  p.  40.  "Post  ilium  Guithelinus 51 
diadema  regni  suscepit,  quod  omni  vitae  suae  tempore 
benigne  et  modeste  tractavit.  Erat  ei  nobilis  mulier  Martia 
nomine,  omnibus  artibus  erudita.  Haec  inter  multa  et 
inaudita,  quae  proprio  ingenio  repererat,  invenit  legem 
quam  Britones  Martianam  appellaverunt."  After  the 
death  of  Guithelinus  Martia  ruled  during  the  minority  of 
their  son. 

HoL,  Hist.,  pp.  21-22.     Guintolinus  or  Guintellius,  ' 
prudent  Prince,  graue  in  counsell,  and  sober  in  behauiour 

49  The  Easterlings  are  mentioned  by  Spenser,  st.  63,  below. 
60  The    resemblance    has    previously    been    pointed    out    by    Kitchin 
notes  to  the  Faerie  Queene,  Bk.  II,  p.  227. 
51  Editions  of  1508  and  1517,  Guinthelinus. 


COMPARISON  99 

He  had  also  a  wife  named  Martia,  a  woman  of  passing 
beautie,  and  wisedome  incomparable.  .  .  ."  The 
Martian  laws  are  not  mentioned  in  the  account  of  Guintoli- 
nus,  but  in  the  account  of  Sicilius. 

Hardyng,  ch.  35,  p.  66. 

"(Gvytelyn,  his  sonne,  gan  reigne  as  heyre) 

Of  all  Brytayn,  aboute  vnto  the  sea, 

Who  wedded  was  to  Marcyan  full  fayre 

That  was  so  wyse  in  her  femynitee; 

That  lawes  made  of  her  syngularytee, 

That  called  wer  the  lawes  Marcyane 

In  Britayne  tongue,  of  her  owne  witte  alane. 

"  This  Guytelyn  was  good  of  his  estate, 
Full  iuste  he  was  in  all  his  judgement, 
Wise     .     .     ." 

A  whole  stanza  is  given  to  the  praise  of  Guytelyn. 

Stow,  p.  12.  ff  Guinthelinus,  sonne  of  Gurgunstus,  was 
crowned  King  of  Brytaine.  A  Prince  sober  and  quiet,  who 
had  to  wife  a  woman  named  Mercia,  of  excellent  learning  and 
knowledge.  She  deuised  certaine  Lawes,  which  long  time 
among  the  Brytains  were  greatly  esteemd,  and  named  Mer- 
cian Lawes" 

Spenser's  account  of  Guitheline  and  Mertia  shows  in  its 
phrasing  such  a  strong  resemblance  to  Hardyng's  as  to 
make  the  influence  of  Hardyng  a  certainty.52  Spenser's 
form  of  the  king's  name,  however,  differs  from  that  used 
by  Hardyng  and  the  other  later  chroniclers,  and  likewise 
from  that  in  the  early  printed  editions  of  Geoffrey.  But 
Spenser's  form  appears  in  the  San  Marte  edition  of  Geof- 
frey, so  it  seems  probable  that  Spenser  may  have  taken  it 
from  some  manuscript  of  the  Historia.  The  comparison 
of  Mertia  to  Aegeria,  like  the  reference  to  Numa  in  the  ac- 
count of  Dunwallo,  is  not  suggested  by  the  chroniclers. 

52  See  Kitchin,  Book  II  of  the  Faerie  Queene,  notes,  p.  227.  Kitchin 
has  pointed  out  the  resemblance,  but  has  overlooked  the  fact  that  only 
in  Hardyng  is  there  precedent  for  Spenser's  adjective  "just." 


ioo          SPENSER'S  BRITISH  CHRONICLE  HISTORY 

Spenser's  sources  for  this  stanza  seem  to  have  been  Geoffrey 
and  Hardyng. 


43.  Her  sonne  Sisillus  53  after  her  did  rayne ; 

And  then  Kimarus ;  and  then  Danius : 

Next  whom  Morindus  did  the  crowne  sustayne; 

Who,  had  he  not  with  wrath  outrageous 

And  cruell  rancour  dim'd  his  valorous 

And  mightie  d cedes,  should  matched  have  the  best: 

As  well  in  that  same  field  victorious 

Against  the  forreine  Morands  he  exprest; 

Yet  lives  his  memorie,  though  carcas  sleepe  in  rest. 

G.  of  M.,  Ill,  14-15,  p.  40  f.  Succession  of  kings: 
Sisilius;  Kimarus;  Danius;54  Morvidus.55  "  Hie"  (Mor- 
vidus)  "  nimia  probitate  famosissimus  esset,  nisi  immod- 
eratae  crud\elitati  indulsisset"  (ch.  14,  //.  6-7).  He  sub- 
dued a  king  of  the  Morini  ( "  rex  Moranorum  " ) .  He 
was  himself  devoured  by  a  sea-monster.  He  left  five  sons. 

Hoi,  Hist.,  p.  29.  Succession  of  kings:  Sicilius; 
Kimarus;  Elanius  (called  in  the  English  Chronicle 
"Haran"  and  by  Matthew  Westmin.,  "Danius"); 
Morindus.  "  This  Morindus  in  the  Englishe  Chronicle  is 
called  Morwith,  and  was  a  man  of  worthie  fame  in  chiual- 
rie,  and  Martiall  doings,  but  so  cruell  withall,  that  his  vn- 
mercifull  nature  could  vneth  be  satisfied  with  the  tormewts 
of  them  that  had  offended  him,  although  oftentymes  with 
his  own  handes  he  cruelly  put  them  to  torture  and  execu- 
tion." He  defeated  a  king  of  the  Moriani,  whom  Holins- 
hed  does  not  think  were  the  Moravians  or  the  Merhenners. 
Morindus  was  devoured  by  a  sea-monster.  He  left  five 
sons. 

Ponticus  Virunnius,  ed.  1585,  p.  14.  Morindus.  Geni- 
tive form,  "Morinorum,"  the  people  subdued  by  Morindus. 

63  "  All  copies  read  Sifillus."     See  Spenser,  Globe  ed.,  p.  689. 

54  In  the  editions  of  1508  and   1517,  Elanius. 

55  In  the  editions  of  1508  and  1517,  Morindus. 


COMPARISON  101 

Hardyng,  ch.  35,  p.  66.  Sicilius :  ch.  36,  p.  67,  "  the 
kyng  of  Morians." 

Graf  ton,  p.  46.  Cecilius  or  Sisillus :  p.  47.  "  Kimarus, 
ye  sonne  of  Cecilius  .  .  .  Morindus." 

Fabyan,  p.  26.     Sicillius  or  Secilius. 

Bale,  Scriptores  Britanniae,  ed.  1557,  p.  13.     Sisillus. 

Mir.  for  Mag.,  Kimarus,  st.  5,  vol.  I,  p.  209.     Cicilius. 

Stow,  p.  12.     Cecilius. 

The  name  Sisilius  56  underwent  many  changes  at  the 
hands  of  the  chroniclers.  Spenser's  form  is  to  be  found  in 
Grafton  and  Bale.  The  name  Kimarus  shows  no  variation. 
Spenser's  form  Danius  appears  in  the  San  Marte  edition  of 
Geoffrey,  but  in  the  early  printed  editions  we  have  Elanius, 
which  is  also  the  preferred  form  in  Holinshed.  Spenser's 
Morindus,  on  the  other  hand,  agrees  with  the  form  in  the 
early  printed  editions  of  Geoffrey,  and  not  with  that  repro- 
duced in  the  San  Marte  text.  The  form  Morindus  is  also 
found  in  Grafton,  Ponticus  Virunnius,  Holinshed,  and 
Stow.  The  description  of  the  character  of  Morindus  seems 
based  on  Geoffrey.  The  evidence  of  the  names  is  not  de- 
cisive, but  on  the  whole  the  main  source  of  the  stanza  ap- 
pears to  be  Geoffrey. 

One  point  remains  inexplicable.  Spenser  goes  out  of 
his  way  to  say  that  the  body  of  Morindus  sleeps  in  rest, 
although  other  chroniclers  agree  that  Morindus  was  de- 
voured by  a  sea-monster.  No  version  of  the  story  is  known 
which  warrants  this  contradiction,  as  it  were,  of  the  usual 
account. 


44.  Five  sonnes  he  left,  begotten  of  one  wife, 
All  which  successively  by  turnes  did  rayne: 
First  Gorboman,  a  man  of  vertuous  life, 
Next  Archigald,  who  for  his  proud  disdayne 
Deposed  was  from  princedome  soverayne, 

&6  Cf .  Sisillius,  p.  88,  above. 


IO2          SPENSER'S  BRITISH  CHRONICLE  HISTORY 

And  pitteous  Elidure  put  in  his  sted; 
Who  shortly  it  to  him  restord  ^gayne, 
Till  by  his  death  he  it  recovered ; 
But  Peridure  and  Vigent  him  disthronized. 

45.  In  wretched  prison  long  he  did  remaine, 
Till  they  outraigned  had  their  utmost  date, 
And  then  therein  reseized  was  againe, 
And  ruled  long  with  honorable  state, 
Till  he  surrendered  Realme  and  life  to  fate. 
Then  all  the  sonnes  of  these  five  brethren  raynd 
By  dew  successe,  and  all  their  Nephewes  late; 
Even  thrise  eleven  descents  the  crowne  retaynd, 
Till  aged  Hely  by  dew  heritage  it  gaynd. 

G.  of  M.,  Ill,  16-20,  pp.  41  ff.  Succession  of  kings: 
Gorbonianus  ("  Nullus  ea  tempestate  eo  justior  erat,  aut 
aequi  amantior."  Ch.  16,  /.  2  f.,  p.  41)  ;  Arthgallo,57  who 
plundered  the  rich,  and  was  deposed  by  them;  Elidurus, 
"  qui  postea  propter  misericordiam,  quam  in  fratrem  fecit, 
Pius  vocatus  fuit  "  (ch.  17,  /.  n  f.,  />.  42),  and  who  restored 
Arthgallo  to  the  throne,  and  afterwards,  on  the  death  of 
Arthgallo,  again  became  king ;  Vigenius  and  Peredurus,  who 
deposed  Elidurus.  "  Potiti  vero  victoria,  ceperunt  ilium,  et 
intra  turrim  urbis  Trinovantinae  incluserunt,  imponentes 
custodes  "  (ch.  18,  /.  5  f.,  p.  43).  Vigenius  and  Peredurus 
died,  and  Elidurus  came  to  the  throne  a  third  time. 

Ch.  19  names  the  thirty-three  successors  to  Elidurus. 

Ch.  20  says  that  the  last  of  these,  Hely,  reigned  forty 
years. 

Hoi.,  Hist.,  pp.  30  ff.  Morindus  left  five  sons,  Gor- 
bonianus or  Gorbonian,58  Archigallo,  59  Elidurus,  Vigenius 

67  In  the  editions  of  1508  and  1517,  Archigallo. 

58  The  form  Gorbomannus  appears  in  the  list  of  the  sons  of  Morin- 
dus at  the  end  of  the  account  of  the  reign  of  Morindus.  It  is  cor- 
rected in  the  second  edition  to  Gorbonianus  (I,  Hist,  of  Eng.,  p.  20). 

69  Changed  in  the  second  edition  to  Archigallus  (I,  Hist,  of  Eng.,  p. 
20). 


COMPARISON 


103 


or  Nigenius,  and  Peredurus.  Gorbonianus  was  "  a  right- 
eous Prince  in  his  gouernment,  and  very  deuout  (accord- 
ing to  such  deuotion  as  he  had)  towardes  the  aduauncing 
of  the  religion  of  his  Gods."  The  other  sons  are  described 
as  in  Geoffrey,  and  the  same  story  is  told.  The  successors 
to  Elidurus  were  thirty-two  or  thirty-three  kings,  the  last 
of  whom  was  Hely  (or  Helie). 

Caxton,  ch.  30. 

"  After  Grandobodyan  regned  his  sone  artogayll  V  yere  / 
and  he  become  so  wykked  and  so  sterne  /  that  the  britons 
wold  not  suffre  hym  to  be  kyng  /  but  put  hym  a  doune  /  and 
made  Hesydur  his  broder  kyng  &  he  bycome  so  good  & 
merciable  /  that  men  hym  callid  kyng  of  pyte  /  And  whan 
he  regned  V  yere  he  had  so  grete  pite  of  his  broder  artogayll 
that  was  kyng  byfore  /  &  anon  he  forsoke  his  dignyte.  and 
toke  his  broder  the  crowne  ayene  .  .  ." 

Hardyng,  ch.  37,  p.  68. 

"  Howe  this  kyng  was  crowned,  in  defaute  of  his  elder 
brother,  and  after,  of  pure  pytee,  crowned  his  brother  agayne." 

Ch.  38,  p.  70. 

Elidure  "  was  so  full  of  [all]   pytee 

That  in  all  thynge  mercy  he  dyd  preserue.     .     .     ." 

His  brothers 

"  prisoned  hym   full  sore  and  wrongfullye 
All  in  the  towre  of  Troynouaunt  for  thy." 

Ch.  39,  p.  70. 

"  Eledour  was  [kyng  all  newe  made]   againe, 
Thrise  crouned     .     .     ." 

Fabyan,  p.  28.  Archigallo ;  p.  29.  Gorbonianus  or  Gor- 
bomanus. 

Graf  ton,  I,  p.  47. 

"  Gorbomannus  the  first  sonne  of  Morindus." 


iO4          SPENSER'S  BRITISH  CHRONICLE  HISTORY 

Stow,  p.  12. 

"  Gorbomannus,  eldest  Sonne  of  Morindus,  raigned  n 
yeeres." 

Spenser  has  compressed  the  account  of  the  five  sons  of 
Morindus  and  their  thirty-three  successors  into  two  stanzas, 
which  reproduce  the  general  outline  of  the  story  in  Geof- 
frey, and  yet  show  also  the  influence  of  the  later  chroniclers. 
From  the  form  in  the  early  printed  editions  of  Geoffrey,  or 
more  probably  from  Fabyan's  Archigallo  and  Holinshed's 
Archigallus,  Spenser  made  the  name  Archigald.  From 
Fabyan,  Grafton,  or  Stow,  or  less  probably  from  the  one 
occurrence  of  the  name  in  the  first  edition  of  Holinshed,  he 
took  the  name  Gorboman.  The  description  of  Gorboman 
as  "  a  man  of  vertuous  life,"  seems  due  to  Holinshed's  ad- 
jective "  devout "  rather  than  to  Geoffrey's  account  of  the 
king's  justice.  According  to  Kitchin,  Spenser's  adjective 
"  pitteous  "  applied  to  Elidure  is  the  result  of  Hardyng's 
statement  that  he  "  was  so  full  of  all  pytee."  60  To  this  it 
may  be  added  that  the  heading  of  the  chapter  in  Hardyng's 
chronicle  states  that  Elidure  "  of  pure  pytee  "  crowned  his 
brother.  Caxton  likewise  emphasizes  the  word  pity,  in 
this  sense  of  "  evincing  pity."  If  the  adjective  be  under- 
stood in  its  other  meaning,  "  fitted  to  excite  pity,"  one  might 
refer  to  Hardyng's  description  of  how  Elidure's  brothers 

"  prisoned  hym   full   sore  and  wrongfullye 
All  in  the  towre  of  Troynouant  for  thy." 

The  meaning  of  "  evincing  pity,"  is,  however,  the  more 
probable,61  and  might  easily  come  from  Geoffrey's  state- 
ment that  Elidurus  was  surnamed  Pius  because  of  his  pity 
for  his  brother.62  The  influence  of  Hardyng,  therefore, 
need  not  necessarily  be  assumed,  although  it  is  a  possibility. 
Neither  is  it  necessary  to  assume  the  influence  of  Fabyan, 

60  Faerie  Queene,  Bk.  II,  ed.  Kitchin,  p.  227. 

61  See  Spenser,  Globe  ed.,  Glossary,  p.  727. 

62  tf  Profiler  misericordiam." 


COMPARISON  IO5 

Graf  ton,  and  Stow,  as  Geoffrey  and  the  first  edition  of 
Holinshed  could  have  furnished  Spenser  with  all  his  mate- 
rial. It  is  significant,  however,  that  except  for  the  descrip- 
tion of  Gorboman  the  points  which  seem  to  show  the  in- 
fluence of  the  later  writers  are  all  to  be  found  in  more  than 
one  chronicle. 


46.  He  had  two  sonnes,  whose  eldest,  called  Lud, 

Left  of  his  life  most  famous  memory, 

And  endlesse  moniments  of  his  great  good : 

The  ruin'd  wals  he  did  readifye 

Of  Troynovant,  gainst  force  of  enimy, 

And  built  that  gate  which  of  his  name  is  hight, 

By  which  he  lyes  entombed  solemnly. 

He  left  two  sonnes,  too  young  to  rule  aright, 

Androgeus  and  Tenantius,  pictures  of  his  might. 

G.  of  M.,  Ill,  20,  p.  44.  Hely  had  three  sons.  Lud, 
the  eldest,  succeeded  his  father.  He  was  famous  for  build- 
ing cities.  "  Exin  gloriosus  aedificator  urbium  existens, 
renovavit  muros  Trinovanti  et  innumerabilibus  turribus 
earn  circumcinxit  "  (//.  4  ff.).  He  also  commanded  the 
citizens  to  build  beautiful  houses.  The  city  was  named 
after  him.  "  Defuncto  tandem  illo,  corpus  ejus  reconditum 
fuit  in  praedicta  civitate  juxta  portam  illam  quae  adhuc 
nomine  ejus  Parthlud  Britanice :  'Saxonice  Ludesgata 
nuncupatur"  (II.  15  ff.).  He  left  two  young  sons,  An- 
drogeus and  Tenuantius.63 

HoL,  Hist.,  pp.  33-34.  Helie  had  three  sons:  Lud,  the 
eldest,  succeeded  his  father.  He  repaired  many  cities,  "  but 
specially  he  delyted  most  to  beautifie  &  enlarge  with  build- 
ings the  Citie  of  Troynouant,  which  he  compassed  with  a 
strong  wall  made  of  lime  and  stone,  in  the  best  maner 
fortified  with  diuerse  fayre  towers;  and  in  the  west  part 
of  the  same  wall  he  erected  a  strong  gate,  which  he  com- 

63  In  the  edition  of  1508,  Tennancius ;  in  the  edition  of  1517,  Tenan- 
cius. 


io6          SPENSER'S  BRITISH  CHRONICLE  HISTORY 

maunded  to  be  cleped  after  his  name,  Luds  gate,  and  so 
vnto  this  day  it  is  called  Ludgate,  the,  s,  only  drowned  in 
ye  pronunciation  of  the  word."  The  city  also  was  named 
after  him.  He  was  buried  near  Ludgate.  He  left  two 
sons,  Androgeus  and  Theomancius  or  Tenancius.  Then 
"  sith  the  two  sonnes  of  Lud  were  not  of  age  able  to 
gouerne,  the  rule  of  the  land  was  committed  to  Cassibel- 
lane." 

Hardyng,  ch.  41,  pp.  75—76.  Lud  built  the  walls  of 
Troynovant. 

"  Androgeus  was  then  his  sonne  and  heyre, 
(Passyng  of  sight  and  luly  fay  re) 
Tenancius  his  yonger  sonne,  of  age 
Which  wer  to  young  to  rule  the  heritage." 

Stow,  p.  13. 

"Lud  the  eldest  sonne  of  Hely,  succeeded  his  father:  hee 
amended  his  Lawes,  and  tooke  away  all  vsages  that  were 
naught:  moreouer,  hee  repaired  the  Citty  of  new  Troy  with 
fair  buildings  and  walls :  and  builded  on  the  West  part  thereof 
a  strong  gate,  which  vnto  this  time  retaineth  the  name  of 
him,  and  is  called  Ludgate.  Finally,  hee  dyed,  leauing  after 
him  two  sonnes,  Androgius,  or  Auaroius,  and  Theomantius: 
who  not  being  of  the  age  to  gouerne,  their  uncle  Cassibelane 
obtained  the  Crowne.  London  took  the  name  of  Lud,  and 
was  called  Ludstone,  as  saith  Geffrey" 

In  saying  that  Lud  rebuilt  the  walls  of  London,  Spenser 
is  closer  to  Geoffrey  than  to  any  of  the  later  chroniclers,  all 
of  whom,  except  Stow,  agree  that  he  built  the  walls.  Stow 
says  that  he  "  repaired  "  the  city  "  with  fair  buildings  and 
walls,"  but  Geoffrey  wrote  "  renovavit  muros,"  which 
might  well  be  translated  by  Spenser's  words. 

"  The     ...     wals  he  did  re-aedify." 

Therefore  Geoffrey  seems  to  have  been  Spenser's  source. 
The  rest  of  the  stanza  offers  further  correspondences  in 
phrasing,  and  practically  repeats  Geoffrey's  story.  There 


COMPARISON  107 

is  only  one  important  variation.  Geoffrey  says  that  Hely 
had  three  sons,  and  Spenser  says  that  he  had  two.  The 
change  may  possibly  be  accounted  for  by  the  fact  that  only 
two  of  the  sons,  Lud  and  Cassibalane,  play  a  part  in  later 
events,  and  by  the  additional  fact  that  no  third  son  is  men- 
tioned by  Graf  ton  in  his  Abridgement,  by  Lanquet  in  his 
Epitome,  or  by  Stow  in  either  Summary  or  Chronicle.  In 
this  change  the  later  chroniclers  may  have  influenced  Spen- 
ser slightly.  For  the  stanza  as  a  whole,  however,  Geof- 
frey was  apparently  the  main  source. 


47.  Whilst  they  were  young,  Cassibalane,  their  Erne, 
Was  by  the  people  chosen  in  their  sted, 

Who  on  him  tooke  the  roiall  Diademe, 

And  goodly  well  long  time  it  governed; 

Till  the  prowde  Romanes  him  disquieted, 

And  warlike  Caesar,  tenDpted  with  the  name 

Of  this  sweet  Island  never  conquered, 

And  envying  the  Britons  blazed  fame, 

(O  hideous  hunger  of  dominion!)  hither  came. 

48.  Yet  twise  they  were  repulsed  backe  againe, 
And  twise  renforst  backe  to  their  ships  to  fly ; 
The  whiles  with  blood  they  all  the  shore  did  staine, 
And  the  gray  Ocean  into  purple  dy: 

Ne  had  they  footing  found  at  last,  perdie, 

Had  not  Androgeus,  false  to  native  soyle, 

And  envious  of  Uncles  soveraintie, 

Betrayd  his  countrey  unto  forreine  spoyle. 

Nought  els  but  treason  from  the  first  this  land  did  foyle. 

49.  So  by  him  Caesar  got  the  victory, 
Through  great  bloodshed  and  many  a  sad  assay, 
In  which  himselfe  was  charged  heavily 

Of  hardy  Nennius,  whom  he  yet  did  slay, 
But  lost  his  sword,  yet  to  be  scene  this  day. 
Thenceforth  this  land  was  tributarie  made 


io8          SPENSER'S  BRITISH  CHRONICLE  HISTORY 

T'ambitious  Rome,  and  did  their  rule  obay, 

Till  Arthur  all  that  reckoning  defrayd : 

Yet  oft  the  Briton  kings  against  them  strongly  swayd. 

G.  of  M.,  Ill,  20  and  IV,  i-io,  pp.  44  ff.  The  story  is 
told  with  much  detail.  A  quarrel  which  involves  the  suprem- 
acy of  Cassibelaunus  is  given  as  the  cause  of  Androgeus's 
treachery.  In  Bk.  IV,  chapters  3-4,  it  is  said  that  Nennius 
attacked  Caesar  on  his  first  invasion  and  was  wounded  so 
that  he  died  fifteen  days  later.  Caesar's  sword  remained 
imbedded  in  the  shield  of  Nennius,  and  was  used  by  Nen- 
nius during  the  rest  of  the  battle.  It  was  buried  with  him. 
The  name  of  the  sword  was  Crocea  Mors. 

Hoi.,  Hist.,  pp.  34  ff.  Holinshed  gives  a  long  account 
which  fills  twenty-three  and  a  half  columns,  including,  how- 
ever, four  wood-cuts  and  a  chapter  heading.  He  repeats 
Caesar's  story  and  Geoffrey's,  sometimes  side  by  side  and 
sometimes  inextricably  mingled.  He  speaks  feelingly  of 
"the  contrarietie  in  writers"  (/>.  45).  He  means  to  show 
"as  reason  requireth  "  what  "the  Romaine  histories  write 
of  thinges  done  here  by  Emperors,  or  their  Lieutenants 
.  .  .  '  (p.  45).  He  tells  the  story  of  Nennius  briefly 
(P-  39)  >  on  the  authority  of  the  "  British  hystorie,"  as  the 
merest  incident  of  the  first  invasion  of  Britain.  He  gives 
the  name  of  the  uncle  as  Cassibellane. 

Hardyng,  chapters  42-44,  pp.  76  if.  During  the  reign 
of  Cassibalayn  Caesar  invaded  Britain,  "  Desyryng  sore  of 
it  the  souerayntee."  The  story  of  Neminus  is  given  after 
the  third  invasion. 

Mir.  for  Mag.,  Julius  Casar,  st.  26,  vol.  I,  p.  267.  Of 
the  Britons  it  is  said, 

"  And  for  their  second  victory  with  sports  they  spend  the 
day." 

St.  32,  p.  269.  Androgeus  sends  to  Caesar  for  help: 
"  On  this  I  expedition  made  the  thirde  and  laste." 


COMPARISON  109 

Spenser's  account  of  Cassibalane  and  of  Caesar's  in- 
vasion is,  on  the  whole,  up  to  stanza  forty-nine,  an  accurate 
summary  of  Geoffrey's  narrative.  The  death  of  Nennius, 
however,  is  there  described  as  if  it  occurred  in  the  third  in- 
vasion, though  Spenser  may  not  have  meant  to  be  so  un- 
derstood, as  his  "  Through  great  bloodshed  and  many  a  sad 
assay  "  may  refer  to  all  three  invasions,  instead  of  to  the 
third  exclusively.  Yet  even  if  this  line  were  meant  to  carry 
the  time  back  to  the  first  invasion,  the  story  of  Nennius  oc- 
cupies an  odd  position,  which  curiously  enough  is  identical 
with  its  position  in  Hardyng,  so  that  Hardyng  seems  to 
have  had  some  influence. 

In  spite  of  its  compression  of  many  facts  into  a  small 
space,  this  passage  is  characterized  by  grace  of  style,  a  dis- 
tinctly rapid,  easy  method  of  narration,  and  an  appeal  to 
the  emotions.  As  a  result,  Spenser  adds  to  the  usual  story 
of  the  sword  of  Nennius  that  it  is  "  yet  to  be  seen  this  day," 
and  ends  with  an  exulting  reference  to  Arthur.  For  these 
additions,  as  for  the  general  character  of  the  narrative,  he 
seems  to  have  had  no  source  or  example.  We  may  say, 
therefore,  that  Geoffrey  was  his  main  source,  and  that  from 
Hardyng  came  the  only  additional  influence  that  we  can 
discover. 


50.  Next  him  Tenantius  raignd;  then  Kimbeline, 
What  time  th'  eternall  Lord  in  fleshly  slime 
Enwombed  was,  from  wretched  Adams  line 

To  purge  away  the  guilt  of  sinfull  crime. 

O  joyous  memorie  of  happy  time, 

That  heavenly  grace  so  plenteously  displayd! 

(O  too  high  ditty  for  my  simple  rime!) 

Soone  after  this  the  Romanes  him  warrayd ; 

For  that  their  tribute  he  refusd  to  let  be  payd. 

51.  Good  Claudius,  that  next  was  Emperour, 
An  army  brought,  and  with  him  batteile  fought, 
In  which  the  king  was  by  a  Treachetour 


no          SPENSER'S  BRITISH  CHRONICLE  HISTORY 

Disguised  slaine,  ere  any  thereof  thought : 
Yet  ceased  not  the  bloody  fight  for  ought ; 

G.  of  M.,  IV ,  11-13,  pp.  53-54.  Tenuantius  ruled,  and 
after  him  Kymbelinus,  his  son.  He  was  friendly  with  the 
Romans,  and  freely  paid  them  tribute,  which  he  might  well 
have  reftised.  In  his  days  Christ  was  born.  Kymbelinus 
had  two  sons,  Guiderius  and  Arviragus.  The  former  suc- 
ceeded him  and  refused  tribute  to  the  Romans.  Claudius, 
who  then  was  Emperor,  came  against  him.  Hamo,  a  gen- 
eral under  Claudius,  disguised  himself  as  a  Briton,  and 
fought  in  the  British  ranks  until  he  had  an  opportunity  to 
kill  Guiderius. 

HoL,  Hist.}  pp.  45  ff.  Theomawtius  (or  Tenantius)  suc- 
ceeded Cassibellane.  Then  Cimbeline  (Kymbelyne)  ruled, 
and  there  was  peace  with  Rome.  In  his  reign  Christ  was 
born.  In  the  thirteenth  year  of  Theomantius  Augustus 
started  to  invade  Britain  because  the  tribute  had  not  been 
paid.  He  was  interrupted  three .  times.  "  But  whether 
this  controuersie  which  appeareth  to  fal  foorth  betwixt  the 
Britaynes  and  Augustus,  was  occasioned  by  Kymbeline 
or  some  other  Prince  of  the  Britaynes,  I  have  not  to 
avouch:  .  .  . 

"  Guiderius  ye  firste  son  of  Kymbaline  (of  whome  Har- 
rison sayeth  nothing)  beganne  his  raigne  in  ye  seuententh 
yere  after  the  incarnation  of  Christ  "  (p.  47). 

He  refused  to  pay  tribute.  "  This  Guiderius  being  a  man 
of  stout  courage,  gaue  occasion  of  breach  of  peace  betwixt 
the  Britaynes  and  Romaynes,  denying  to  pay  the  tribute 
.  .  .  (/>.  47).  The  story  of  Caligula's  expedition 
which  ended  in  gathering  cockle-shells  is  told  next,  and  the 
story  that  Dion  Cassius  gives,  according  to  which  Plautius, 
in  the  time  of  Claudius,  led  the  army  into  Britain  and  van- 
quished the  sons  of  Cynobellinus,  "  for  theyr  father  was 
dead  not  very  long  before"  (p.  49).  Geoffrey's  story  is 
told  last,  and  is  brief. 


COMPARISON  III 

Hardyng,  ch.  45,  p.  Bo. 

"  This  Kinbelyne  reigned  fully  X  yere, 

And  ruled  this  lande  in  lawe  and  peace  full  well, 

And  dyed  then,  as  sayth  the  chronycler, 

That  ilke  same  yere  that  Christe  was    (borne  w*  zele) 

(Of  his  mother  a  mayden  fayre  and  wele,) 

For  Christen  folke  by  grace  then  to  redeme 

From  payne  of  hell  to  blysse,  as  clerkes  deme." 

The  lines  on  the  birth  of  Christ  that  immediately  follow 
the  mention  of  Kimbeline  appear  to  have  been  suggested 
by  Hardy ng's  lines  on  the  same  subject.  The  statement 
that  comes  next,  namely,  that  the  Romans  made  war  on 
Kimbeline  because  he  refused  to  pay  tribute,  may  possibly 
have  some  foundation  in  a  sentence  in  Holinshed,  where  it 
is  said  that  the  war  with  Rome  in  the  time  of  Tenantius  was 
due  to  the  refusal  of  tribute  by  "  Kymbeline  or  some  other 
Prince  of  the  Brytaines."  More  probably,  however,  these 
lines,  like  the  following,  are  due  to  Spenser's  omission  of 
Guiderius,  whose  story  is  transferred  in  its  totality  to  Kim- 
beline. According  to  Holinshed,  H^rison  omitted  Gui- 
derius. Perhaps  Harison  also  transferred  the  story  of 
Guiderius  to  Kimbeline  and  is  the  source  of  the  passage  in 
Spenser.  Certainly,  in  the  face  of  Holinshed's  evidence 
about  Hanson,  one  hesitates  to  assume  that  Spenser  has 
here  merely  made  a  mistake.  Apart  from  this  possible  in- 
fluence of  Harison's  Chronologic,  the  sources  of  Spenser 
seem  to  have  been  only  Geoffrey  and  Hardyng. 


51,  //.  6  ff.     For  Arvirage  his  brothers  place  supplyde 
Both  in  his  armes  and  crowne,  and  by  that  draught 
Did  drive  the  Romanes  to  the  weaker  syde, 

That  they  to  peace  agreed.     So  all  was  pacifyde. 

52.  Was  never  king  'more  highly  magnifide, 
Nor  dredd  of  Romanes,  then  was  Arvirage; 


H2          SPENSER'S  BRITISH  CHRONICLE  HISTORY 

For  which  the  Emperour  to  him  allide 

His  daughter  Genuiss'  in  marriage : 

Yet  shortly  he  renounst  the  vassallage 

Of  Rome  againe,  who  hither  hastly  sent 

Vespasian,  that  with  great  spoile  and  rage 

Forwasted  all,  till  Genuissa  gent 

Persuaded  him  to  ceasse,  and  her  lord  to  relent. 

G.  of  M.,  IV,  13-16,  pp.  54  ff.  Arviragus  assumed  his 
brother's  arms,  and  the  Britons,  unconscious  of  the  death  of 
their  king,  fought  under  his  leadership  until  they  were  vic- 
torious over  the  Romans.  Peace  was  made.  Arviragus 
recognized  the  supremacy  of  Rome,  and  received  in  mar- 
riage Genuissa,64  the  daughter  of  Claudius.  Afterward  he 
assumed  sole  power.  Vespasianus  was  sent  against  him. 
There  was  a  drawn  battle ;  then  peace  was  made  by  Genuissa. 
Arviragus  continued  to  govern  his  kingdom  peacefully  and 
well.  "  Fama  igitur  ejus  per  totam  Europam  divulgata, 
diligebant  eum  Romani  et  timebant,  ita  ut  prae  onwibus 
regibus  sermo  de  eo  Romae  Herd"  (ch.  16,  //.  25  if., 

P.  57). 

HoL,  Hist.,  pp.  51  if.  Arviragus  made  peace  with 
Claudius  on  condition  that  he  have  Genissa,  the  daughter 
of  Claudius,  in  marriage.  After  relating  this  story  Holins- 
hed  gives  evidence  against  it.  He  then  continues  with  the 
revolt  of  Arviragus,  the  arrival  of  Vespasian,  and  the  in- 
tervention of  Genissa,  as  in  Geoffrey.  But  again  he  quotes 
from  Latin  authors  evidence  against  the  story  he  has  just 
told. 

Hardyng,  ch.  46,  p.  81. 

"  His  brothers  armis  vpon  hym  self  he  cast ; 
And  king  was  then  of  all  ye  Great  Britain.'* 

Although  the  opening  lines  in  Spenser's  account  of 
Arvirage  seem  to  echo  Hardyng's,  the  rest  of  the  story  fol- 

64  In  the  editions  of  1508  and  1517,  Gennissa. 


OF  THE 
UNIVERSITY 


OF 


COMPARISON  113 

lows  Geoffrey  closely.  Not  only  is  it  the  same  in  general 
outline,  but  also  it  shows  the  influence  of  Geoffrey  in  the 
wording  of  the  reference  to  Arvirage's  reputation.  Both 
Geoffrey  and  Hardyng  seem  to  have  been  used  by  Spenser. 


53.  He  dide,  and  him  succeeded  Marius, 

Who  joyd  his  dayes  IN  GREAT  TRANQUILLITY. 

Then  Coyll ;  and  after  him  good  Lucius, 

That  first  received  Christianity, 

The  sacred  pledge  of  Christes  Evangely. 

Yet  true  it  is,  that  long  before  that  day 

Hither  came  Joseph  of  Arimathy, 

Who  brought  with  him  the  holy  grayle,  they  say, 

And  preacht  the  truth ;  but  since  it  greatly  did  decay. 

54.  This  good  king  shortly  without  issew  dide, 
Whereof  great  trouble  in  the  kingdome  grew, 
That  did  her  selfe  in  sondry  parts  divide, 
And  with  her  powre  her  owne  selfe  overthrew, 
Whilest  Romanes  daijy  did  the  weake  subdew : 

G.  of  M.,  IV ,  17-20,  and  V ,  1-2,  pp.  57  ff.  Succession 
of  kings :  Marius,  who  overcame  the  Picts ;  Coillus ;  Lucius, 
who  embraced  Christianity.  Lucius  died  without  issue. 
Dissension  followed  his  death,  and  the  Roman  power  was 
weakened.  When  this  news  reached  Rome,  Severus  was 
sent  to  subdue  the  country. 

Hoi.,  Hist.,  p.  52  /.  In  the  time  of  Arviragus  Joseph 
of  Aramathia  introduced  Christianity  and  preached  in  Eng- 
land. There  follows  an  account  of  the  Roman  Ostorius,  the 
British  Voadicia  or  Bunduica,  and  others. 

pp.  66  ff.  "  Marius,  otherwise  Meurig  or  Maue  "  suc- 
ceeded his  father  Arviragus,  overcame  the  Picts,  and  con- 
tinued "  the  residue  of  his  life  IN  GREAT  TRANQUILLITIE." 

pp.  68  ff.  A  long  account  of  Agricola's  government  is 
given. 

pp.  73  ff.     Coyllus,  Coilus,  or  Coyll  became  king.     Lu- 


H4          SPENSER'S  BRITISH  CHRONICLE  HISTORY 

cius  succeeded  him,  and  was  the  first  king  to  become  Chris- 
tian, although  from  the  days  of  Joseph  of  Arimathea  there 
had  been  men  who  preached  the  gospel  among  the  Britains. 
Lucius  died  without  issue,  and  dissension  followed. 

Hardyng,  chapters  47-48,  pp.  83  ff.  Hardy ng  gives  a 
full  account  of  Joseph  of  Arimathie's  coming  to  England 
with  Vespasian  in  the  time  of  Arviragus. 

Ch.  48,  p.  85. 

"  Joseph  conuerted  this  kyng  Aruigarus, 

By  his  prechyng,  to  knowe  ye  lawe  deuine, 

And  baptized  hym,  as  writew  hath  Neninus     .     .     ." 

Ch.  49,  pp.  85-86.  Marius  gained  a  victory  over  the 
Picts,  to  commemorate  which  a  red  cross  was  erected  in 
Westmoreland. 

Ch.  50,  p.  88. 

"  Kyng  Maryus  kepte  ye  (realme  in  lawe  &)  peace, 
Full  of  riches  and  of  prosperyte." 

Ch.  si,  p.  go. 

"  For  cause  he "   (Lucius)   "  had  no  (ne)  heire  to  kepe  the 

lande 

Through  all  Britayn  the  barons  gan  discorde, 
Vnto  the  tyme  that  Romayns  toke  on  hande 
To  chese  a  prince  by  there  stedfaste  accorde." 

Caxton,  Ch.  40. 

"  This  kyng  lucye  had  none  heyr  of  his  body  bigoten  that 
was  afterward  grete  harme  &  sorrow  to  the  land  /  for  after 
this  kyng  lucyes  deth  /  none  of  the  grete  of  the  land  wold 
suffre  an  other  to  be  kyng,  but  lyved  in  werre  /  &  in  debate 
amonges  hem  L  yere  without  kyng  /  but  it  befell  afterward 
that  a  grete  prince  come  fro  Rome  in  to  this  land  that  me 
called  Seuerye  .  .  ." 

Spenser,  in  his  account  of  Marius,  omitted  the  war  with 
the  Picts  which  is  described  by  Geoffrey,  Holinshed,  and 


COMPARISON  115 

all  the  other  chroniclers.  This  is  the  more  surprising  as 
the  war  ended  in  a  British  victory  which  was  commemo- 
rated by  a  stone  in  Westmoreland, —  just  the  kind  of  ma- 
terial that  should  have  appealed  to  Spenser.  He  may  have 
rejected  it,  however,  because  in  many  accounts,  such  as 
Caxton's,  the  king  who  waged  the  war  is  called,  not  Marius, 
but  Westmer,  presumably  as  a  result  of  Geoffrey's  having 
said  that  the  province  of  Westmoreland  was  named  from 
him.  Any  mention  of  the  war  would  have  suggested  to 
the  well-informed  reader  this  troublesome  disagreement 
among  authorities.  So  Spenser,  keeping  the  name  of  the 
king  as  he  found  it  in  Geoffrey  and  Holinshed,  simply  used 
Holinshed's  words,  "  in  great  tranquillity,"  to  describe  the 
whole  of  the  reign,  instead  of  its  conclusion.  From  the 
phrasing  we  infer  the  use  of  Holinshed  at  this  point. 

In  the  description  of  the  reign  of  Lucius  the  reference 
to  Joseph  of  Arimathy  shows  again  the  influence  of  Holins- 
hed, the  only  writer  who  speaks  of  him  at  this  point,  al- 
though reference  to  him  in  the  reign  of  Arviragus  is  com- 
mon. No  where  in  the  chronicles,  however,  does  there 
seem  to  be  mention  of  the  grail.  This  Spenser  apparently 
added  from  the  romances.  Holinshed,  therefore,  remains 
the  only  chronicler  whose  influence  we  can  trace  in  Spen- 
ser's account  of  Marius,  Coyll,  and  Lucius. 


54,  //.  6  ff.     Which  seeing,  stout  Bunduca  up  arose, 
And  taking  armes  the  Britons  to  her  drew ; 

With  whom  she  marched  streight  against  her  foes, 
And  them  unwares  besides  the  Severne  did  enclose. 

55.  There  she  with  them  a  cruell  batteill  tryde, 
Not  with  so  good  successe  as  shee  deserv'd; 
By  reason  that  the  Captaines  on  her  syde, 
Corrupted  by  Paulinus,  from  her  swerv'd : 

Yet,  such  as  were  through  former  flight  preserv'd 
Gathering  againe,  her  Host  she  did  renew, 
And  with  fresh  corage  on  the  victor  servd : 


ii6          SPENSER'S  BRITISH  CHRONICLE  HISTORY 

But  being  all  defeated,  save  a  few, 

Rather  then  fly,  or  be  captiv'd,  her  selfe  she  slew. 

56.  O  famous  moniment  of  womens  prayse ! 

Matchable  either  to  Semiramis, 

Whom  antique  history  so  high  doth  rayse, 

Or  to  Hypsiphil',  or  to  Thomiris. 

Her  Host  two  hundred  thousand  numbred  is : 

Who,  whiles  good  fortune  favoured  her  might, 

Triumphed  oft  against  her  enemis : 

And  yet,  though  overcome  in  haplesse  fight, 

Shee  triumphed  on  death,  in  enimies  despight. 

G.  of  M.     The  story  of  Bunduca  is  not  given. 

HoL,  Hist.,  pp.  60  if.  Voadicia  (also  called  Bunduica, 
Boudicia,  and  Bunuica)  lived  in  the  time  of  Nero,  succes- 
sor to  Claudius,  and  in  the  time  of  Arviragus,  whose  wife 
she  may  possibly  have  been.  After  she  had  gained  sev- 
eral victories  over  the  Romans  she  was  met  by  Paulinus 
Suetonius  and  defeated.  Then  she  either  died  or  killed  her- 
self. A  marginal  note  (p.  64)  says  that,  according  to 
Dion,  Voadicia's  army  numbered  230,000.  Her  first  bat- 
tle was  fought  at  Camalodunum.  There  was  a  second  en- 
counter, and  then  Suetonius  returned  from  Anglesey  to 
London.  After  leaving  London  and  Verolanium  he  fought 
a  battle  "  within  straytes  "  (p.  64).  This  was  the  battle  in 
which  Voadicia  was  defeated. 

P-  54- 

"  But  nowe  there  resteth  a  great  doubt  among  writers,  where 
thys  Citie  or  Towne  called  Camulodunum  dyd  stand  of  some 
and  not  without  good  grounde  of  probable  conjectures,  gath- 
ered vpon  the  aduised  consideration  of  the  circumstances  of 
that  whych  in  olde  authors  is  found  written  of  this  place, 
it  is  thought  to  be  Colchester.  But  verily  by  thys  place  of 
Tacitus  it  may  seeme  rather  to  be  some  other  towne,  situate 
more  Westward  than  Colchester,  sith  a  colonie  of  Romaine 
Souldiers  were  planted  there  to  bee  at  hande,  for  the  repress- 
ing of  the  vnquiet  Silures,  whiche  by  consent  of  most  writers 
inhabited  in  South  wales,  or  neere  the  Welch  Marches." 


COMPARISON  117 

p.  55.  Camulodunum  is  said  to  have  been  certainly  near 
the  Thames. 

Stow,  pp.  32-33.  The  story  of  Bunducia  is  told  vividly 
on  the  authority  of  Dion  Cassius.  Bunducia,  with  an  army 
of  230,000  men,  captured  two  cities  during  the  absence  of 
Paulinus.  On  his  return  she  fought  with  him  and  was  de- 
feated. She  died  of  disease.  In  a  single  paragraph  there 
follows  the  account  given  by  Tacitus,  according  to  which 
Bunducia,  after  her  defeat,  poisoned  herself. 

Camden,  Brit.,  section  Romani  in  Britannia,  pp.  37-46. 

"  Britanni,  Bunduica  regia  faemina  duce  .  .  ."  (p.  38). 
The  revolt  is  said  to  have  been  in  the  time  of  Suetonius 
and  Paulinus.  The  latter  defeated  Bunduica. 

Spenser's  treatment  of  the  story  of  Bunduca  deserves  par- 
ticular attention.  In  the  first  place,  his  mere  inclusion  of 
it  is  significant,  as  it  is  non-Galfridian  material  not  incor- 
porated into  the  mythical  history  of  Britain  until  after  the 
time  of  Hardyng.  In  the  second  place,  Spenser  is  ap- 
parently independent  of  all  his  predecessors  in  choosing  the 
place  for  inserting  this  foreign  material,  and  in  his  method 
of  fusing  it  with  the  rest  of  the  narrative.  And  in  the 
third  place,  he  seems  almost  equally  independent  of  his 
predecessors  in  the  details  of  the  story. 

The  inclusion  of  the  material  is  what  would  naturally  be 
expected.  The  story  rested  on  good  classical  authority, — 
Tacitus  and  Dion  Cassius.  It  was  accepted  by  the  best 
chroniclers  contemporary  with  Spenser, —  Holinshed  and 
Stow.  It  was  discussed  by  the  antiquarian,  Camden.  It 
was  a  good  story  in  itself,  and  inasmuch  as  it  glorified  a 
woman  it  was  likely  to  appeal  to  Elizabeth. 

The  place  where  the  story  is  inserted  was  apparently  the 
result  of  careful  study  on  Spenser's  part.  Holinshed  and 
other  writers  who  sought  for  historical  accuracy,  following 
the  statement  that  Bunduca  was  the  wife  of  Arviragus,  in- 
troduced her  story  just  before  the  reign  of  Marius,  where, 


n8          SPENSER'S  BRITISH  CHRONICLE  HISTORY 

however,  it  contradicted  Geoffrey's  narrative,  according  to 
which  Marius  immediately  succeeded  his  father  Arviragus, 
and  Britain  was  at  peace  with  Rome.  Spenser  ingeniously 
transferred  the  story  to  the  period  of  civil  dissension  and 
Roman  warfare  following  the  death  of  Lucius,  when  such  a 
leader  as  Bunduca  might  well  have  arisen.  After  describ- 
ing her  death  he  could  easily  return  to  Geoffrey's  narrative 
with  the  account  of  Severus  and  Fulgenius.  By  this  ar- 
rangement, Spenser,  without  falsifying  those  portions  of 
Geoffrey's  narrative  which  he  kept,  contrived  to  make  his 
own  chronicle,  in  spite  of  its  extraneous  material,  both  plau- 
sible and  coherent. 

The  source  of  Spenser's  account  of  Bunduca  remains  to 
be  considered.  But  first  we  shall  do  well  to  notice  its  gen- 
eral characteristics.  It  is  not  a  simple  and  straightforward 
account.  'Bunduca  takes  arms,  calls  the  Britons  to  her, 
marches  against  her  foes,  surrounds  them  near  the  Severne, 
but  in  the  ensuing  battle  is  defeated  because  her  captains, 
bribed  by  Paulinus,  desert  her.  Rallying  the  remnant 
of  her  forces,  she  fights  again,  and  is  again  defeated.  Then 
she  slays  herself.  Here,  manifestly,  with  the  fifty-fifth 
stanza,  the  story  of  Bunduca  should  end.  The  fifty-sev- 
enth stanza  would  then  follow  without  a  break,  and  the  story 
as  a  whole  would  be  coherent  and  free  from  contradictions. 
But  the  unnecessary  fifty-sixth  stanza  causes  trouble. 
Spenser  begins  with  four  lines  of  apostrophizing  in  which 
he  compares  Bunduca  to  famous  women  of  ancient  times. 
Then  suddenly  he  drops  to  the  level  of  commonplace. 

"  Her  host  two  hundred  thousand  numbred  is." 

He  continues  with  a  reference  to  Bunduca's  many  vic- 
tories,65 and  then  vaguely  repeats  the  fact  of  her  death. 

65  On  the  other  two  occasions  when  Spenser  mentions  Bunduca  he 
refers  to  her  victories.  In  the  Faerie  Queene,  III,  3,  54,  he  writes, 

"  The  bold  Bunduca,  whose  victorious 
Exployts  made  Rome  to  quake." 


COMPARISON  I IQ 

The  account  of  Bunduca  in  stanzas  fifty-four  and  fifty-five 
gave  no  opportunity  for  these  victories,  as  Bunduca  is  there 
described  as  fighting  only  twice  and  being  defeated  both 
times.  The  fifty-sixth  stanza  therefore  in  part  contradicts 
and  in  part  repeats  the  narrative  in  the  preceding  stanzas. 

In  a  consideration  of  Spenser's  sources  we  are  justified 
in  separating  the  fifty-sixth  stanza  from  the  rest  of  the  story. 
Its  material  is  sufficiently  familiar.  The  number  of  Bun- 
duca's  host,  200,000,  is  probably  based  on  Dion's  estimate 
of  230,000,  which  is  repeated  by  both  Holirished  and  Stow. 
All  previous  versions  of  the  story,  so  far  as  we  know,  rep- 
resent Bunduca  as  victorious  in  her  early  battles.  And 
finally,  the  account  of  her  death  was  so  carefully  worded 
that  Spenser  is  not  committed  either  to  Dion's  statement 
that  she  died  of  disease  or  to  the  story  in  Tacitus  that  she 
took  poison.  Spenser  might  have  based  his  lines  on  either 
version.  The  material  of  the  stanza  as  a  whole  might  have 
come  from  any  of  the  extant  accounts  of  Bunduca. 

With  the  material  in  stanzas  fifty-four  and  fifty-five  the 
case  is  different.  Except  for  the  form  of  the  name,  which 
approximates  the  Bunducia  of  Stow  and  the  Bunduica  which 
appears  in  Camden  and  as  one  of  the  variants  in  Holins- 
hed,  and  for  the  statement  that  Bunduca  committed  suicide, 
Spenser's  story  is  entirely  independent  of  any  known  au- 
thority. Yet  in  localizing  the  story  in  the  west  instead  of 
the  east  of  England,  Spenser  may  possibly  have  taken  a 
hint  from  Holinshed,  who  suggested,  on  the  evidence  of 
Tacitus,  that  Camalodunum  might  not  be  Colchester,  with 
which  it  was  usually  identified,  but  some  place  farther  west, 
near  Wales. 

In  the  Ruines  of  Time  (Spenser,  Globe  ed,  p.  490)  Verolame  is 
represented  as  saying, 

"  But  long  ere  this,  Bunduca,  Britonesse, 
Her  mightie  hoast  against  my  bulwarkes  brought, 
Bunduca,  that  victorious  conqueresse, 
That,  lifting  up  her  brave  heroick  thought 
Bove  womens  weaknes,  with  the  Romanes   fought, 
Fought,  and  in  field  against  them  thrice  prevailed; 
Yet  was  she  foyld,  when  as  she  me  assailed." 


I2O  SPENSER S   BRITISH    CHRONICLE    HISTORY 

It  seems  probable,  we  may  conclude,  that  Spenser  in- 
serted a  brief  version  of  the  Bunduca  story  in  what  seemed 
to  him  the  most  convenient  place  in  Geoffrey's  narrative. 
This  version,  if  not  independent,  was  based  on  some  ac- 
count as  yet  undiscovered,  although  influenced,  possi- 
bly, by  Holinshed  and  Tacitus.  Afterward,  perhaps 
when  revising,  he  realized  that  he  had  omitted  all  men- 
tion of  Bunduca's  victories  and  was  losing  an  oppor- 
tunity to  glorify  a  heroine.  He  therefore  wrote  and 
inserted  the  fifty-sixth  stanza,  which  he  based  on  material 
familiar  in  all  accounts  of  Bunduca.  It  gave  him  an  oppor- 
tunity to  call  the  British  Queen  a  "  famous  moniment  of 
womens  prayse,"  and  to  make  even  her  death  a  victory. 
Meanwhile  he  forgot  what  he  had  previously  written  or  was 
indifferent  to  the  repetition  and  the  implied  contradiction. 


57.  Her  reliques  Fulgent  having  gathered, 
Fought  with  Severus,  and  him  overthrew, 
Yet  in  the  chace  was  slaine  of  them  that  fled, 
So  made  them  victors  whome  he  did  subdew. 

G.  of  M.,  V ,  2,  pp.  60-6 1.  Fulgenius,  with  the  assist- 
ance of  the  Picts,  fought  against  Severus,  who  was  killed  in 
the  battle.  Fulgenius  also  was  mortally  wounded.  Sev- 
erus left  two  sons,  Bassianus  and  Geta. 

HoL,  Hist.,  p.  78.  "  At  length,  hearing  that  one  Fulg^wtius 
as  then  a  leader  of  the  Pictes  was  entred  into  the  bordures  of 
his  countrey  on  this  syde  Durham,  he"  (Severus)  "  raysed 
an  host  of  Britaynes  and  Romans,  with  the  which  he  marched 
towards  his  enimies :  and  meeting  with  the  said  Fulgentius  in 
a  place  neere  vnto  Yorke,  in  the  end  after  sore  fighte  Seuerus 
was  slayne,  when  he  hadde  ruled  thys  land  for  the  space  al- 
most of  fiue  yeeres,  as  before  is  sayd,  and  was  after  buried  at 
Yorke,  leauing  behinde  him  two  sonnes,  the  one  named  Geta, 
&  the  other  Bassianus." 

Mir.  for  Mag.,  Fulgentius,  st.  10-13,  v°l-  L  PP-  322- 
323.  The  Roman  force  gives  way.  Fulgent  pursues. 


COMPARISON  121 

The  Romans  rally.     Fulgent  kills  Severus,  but  himself  re- 
ceives a  death-wound. 

Spenser,  as  has  been  said,  returns  to  Geoffrey's  narrative 
with  the  account  of  the  conflict  between  Fulgent  and 
Severus.  In  a  transitional  phrase  he  m(akes  Fulgent  the 
successor  to  Bunduca,  whose  "  reliques  "  Fulgent  gathers. 
In  the  fight  between  Severus  and  Fulgent,  Spenser  intro- 
duces material  not  found  in  Geoffrey, — namely,  the  flight 
of  the  Romans  and  the  death  of  Fulgent  in  pursuit.  This 
appears  to  have  been  based  on  the  full  account  of  the  battle 
in  the  Mirror  for  Magistrates,  which  gives  the  story  of 
Fulgent's  pursuit  of  the  enemy  and  his  being  killed  when 
the  Romans  rallied.  Spenser's  form  of  Fulgent's  name  also 
shows  the  influence  of  the  Mirror  for  Magistrates  or  the 
later  chronicles.  The  Mirror  for  Magistrates  seems  to 
have  been  Spenser's  source. 


57,  1.  5  f.     Then  gan  Carausius  tirannize  anew, 
And  gainst  the  Romanes  bent  their  proper  powre ; 

G.  of  M.,  V ,  3—4,  pp.  61  ff.  Carausius,  after  the  time 
of  the  sons  of  Fulgenius,  got  a  fleet  from  the  Romans  to 
defend  the  coast  of  Britain,  and  then  became  a  pirate,  and 
finally  king  of  the  Britons.  He  attacked  the  Romans. 

Hoi.,  Hist.,  pp.  8 1  ff.  Caraussius,  after  he  had  van- 
quished and  slain  Bassianus,  was  made  king  by  the  Britons. 
His  victory  was  won  by  the  aid  of  the  Picts,  who  betrayed 
Bassianus  and  came  over  to  him.  He  was  slain  on  the  field 
of  battle  by  Alectus. 

Later  Eutropius  is  quoted  as  telling  the  story  that  Caraus- 
sius received  charge  at  Bolein  to  keep  the  seas  quiet  about 
Britain,  France,  and  Flanders.  He  kept  the  profits  him- 
self. There  was  a  plan  to  punish  him,  so  he  revolted  and 
became  king  of  Britain. 

Stow,  p.  42.  Carausius  used  the  Roman  fleet  to  make 
himself  powerful.  The  Romans  prepared  to  move  against 


122  SPENSER  S   BRITISH    CHRONICLE    HISTORY 

him.  He  "  passed  out  of  Gaule  into  Brytaine,  where  bring- 
ing the  countrey  to  his  obeysance,  he  vsurped  the  robe  of 
an  Emperour." 

At  this  point  in  the  story  Spenser  omits  Bassianus  and 
Geta,  perhaps  to  avoid  a  disproportion  in  the  narrative  as  a 
result  of  his  insertion  of  Bunduca  just  before.  His  account 
of  their  successor,  Carausius,  agrees  with  Geoffrey's. 


57,  //.  7  if.     But  him  Allectus  treacherously  slew, 
And  tooke  on  him  the  robe  of  Emperoure : 
Nath'lesse  the  same  enjoyed  but  short  happy  howre : 

58.  For  Asclepiodate  him  overcame, 

And  left  inglorious  on  the  vanquisht  playne, 
Without  or  robe  or  rag  to  hide  his  shame : 
Then  afterwards  he  in  his  stead  did  raigne, 
But  shortly  was  by  Coyll  in  batteill  slaine  : 

G.  of  M.,  V ,  4-6,  pp.  62  if.  Allectus,  sent  from  Rome, 
killed  Carausius,  and  "  ipsoque  inter fecto  solium  regni  sus- 
cepit "  (ch.  4,  /.  5).  He  was  killed  in  battle  by  Asclepi- 
odotus,  who  overcame  the  Romans  under  Gallus,  and 
became  king.  Coel  headed  an  insurrection  against  As- 
clepiodotus,  killed  him,  and  took  his  crown. 

Hoi,  Hist.,  p.  82.  Alectus  was  killed  by  Asclepiodotus, 
who  fought  the  Romans,  became  king,  and  was  afterward 
killed  by  Coyll  or  Coilus. 

pp.  83  if.  Holinshed  gives  an  oration  ascribed  to  Mamer- 
tinus  in  praise  of  Maximianus.  In  it  occurs  the  follow- 
ing :  The  "  ringleader  of  the  vngratious  faction  "  fled  and 
the  Romans  gained  the  victory  with  the  loss  of  scarcely  a 
man.  Among  the  heaps  of  the  dead  "  the  chiefe  ringleader 
of  the  theeues  was  founde,  who  had  put  off  those  robes 
which  in  his  life  time  he  had  vsurped  &  dishonored,  so  as 
vneth  was  he  couered  wyth  one  piece  of  apparell  whereby  he 


COMPARISON 


I23 


might  be  knowen,  so  neare  were  his  wordes  true  vttered  at 
the  houre  of  his  death,  whiche  he  saw  at  hand,  that  he 
would  not  haue  it  understoode  howe  he  was  slayn "  (p. 
85 ).  A  marginal  note  says,  "  Alectus  f ounde  dead.  He 
had  dispoyled  himselfe  of  the  imperiall  robes,  bycause  he 
would  not  be  knowen  if  he  chanced  to  be  slayne." 

P.  87. 

"  But  whether  Asclepiodotus  came  ouer  w*  that  nauie  which 
was  rigged  on  the  coasts  of  Flanders,  or  with  some  other,  I 
will  not  presume  to  affirme  eyther  to  or  fro,  bicause  in  deed 
Mamertinus  maketh  no  expresse  mention  either  of  Alectus, 
or  Asclepiodotus:  but  notwithstanding  it  is  euident  by  that 
which  is  cowteined  in  his  oration,  that  not  Maximian,  but 
some  other  of  the  captains  gouerned  y*  armie,  whiche  slewe 
Alectus,  so  that  we  may  suppose  that  Asclepiodotus  was 
chieftain  ouer  some  number  of  ships  directed  by  Maximin- 
ians 6G  appointment  to  passe  ouer  into  this  yle  against  the 
same  Alectus :  and  so  may  this  which  Mamertinus  writeth, 
agree  with  the  truth  of  that  which  we  fynd  in  Eutropiusi" 

Stow,  pp.  42-43.  Constantius  was  sent  to  subdue 
Britain.  He  first  attacked  "  the  Hollanders  .  .  .  and 
then  staying  for  conuenient  winde,  hee  houered  a  while  on 
the  Sea-coast,  and  in  the  meane  time  Carausius  was 
trayterously  slaine  by  Alectus  his  familiar  friend."  Con- 
stantine 67  landed  and  burned  his  ships.  "  Which  when 
Alectus  understood,  hee  left  the  shore,  and  prepared 
himselfe  for  battell,  with  his  mercenary  barbarous  Soul- 
diours,  in  which  hee  was  slaine  by  Asdepwdatus,  Lord 
great  Master  of  the  Emperours  house.  In  this  fight  none 
of  the  Romanes  perished,  but  heere  all  the  field  was  ouer- 
spred  with  dead  bodies  of  the  enemies,  among  whom  lay 
Alectus  himselfe  without  any  Emperiall  ornaments,  and 
scantly  knowne." 

*8  This  form,  Maximinian,  interchanges  with  Maximian  in  the  edi- 
tion of  1577,  but  is  corrected  to  the  latter  form  in  the  next  edition 
(vol.  I,  Hist,  of  Eng.,  p.  61). 

67  Evidently  a  mistake  for  Constantius.     It  occurs  only  once. 


124          SPENSER'S  BRITISH  CHRONICLE  HISTORY 

Mir.  for  Mag.,  Carassus,  st.  46,  vol.  I,  p.  $&o.68 

"  Alectus  then  the  chiefetayne  of  the  rest, 

Spoyling  my  friendes,  he  forst  me  to  the  feelde. 
The  daye  was  come,  we  both  in  fight  were  prest: 
His  trustelesse  trayne,  did  seem  to  me  to  yeelde, 
But  al  the  feeldes  with  great  ambushmentes  filde 
I  coulde  not  flee,  Alectus  had  the  day, 
With  his  own  sworde  for  breath  he  made  me  bray." 

Spenser's  account  of  Allectus  follows  the  authorities  later 
than  Geoffrey  in  phrasing  and  in  the  statement  that  Allectus 
was  found  naked  on  the  field  of  battle.  The  phrasing  shows 
the  influence  of  Stow,  both  in  "  treacherously  slew  "  and  in 
the  "  tooke  on  him  the  robe  of  Emperoure,"  which  echoes 
Stow's  phrase  as  regards  Carausius,  who  "  vsurped  the  robe 
of  an  Emperour."  Beside  Stow,  there  seems  to  be  no  au- 
thority for  "  treacherously  "  except  possibly  the  line  in  the 
Mirror  for  Magistrates. 

"  His  trustelesse  trayne  did  seem  to  me  to  yeelde." 

Stow,  therefore,  appears  to  have  been  Spenser's  source. 
But  the  account  of  the  finding  of  the  body  of  Allectus  seems 
to  have  been  influenced  also  by  the  oration  of  Mamertinus 
quoted  by  Holinshed.  In  this  it  is  said  that  the  ringleader 
(identified  with  Allectus)  had  put  off  the  imperial!  robes 
"  so  as  vneth  was  he  couered  wyth  one  piece  of  apparell." 
Stow  says  only  that  among  the  dead  bodies  "  lay  Alectus 
himselfe,  without  any  imperiall  ornaments,  and  scantly 
knowne."  Holinshed,  therefore,  as  well  as  Stow,  seems  to 
have  influenced  Spenser  in  this  passage. 


58,  //.  6  ff.     Who  after  long  debate,  since  Lucies  tyme, 
Was  of  the  Britons  first  crownd  Soveraine. 
Then  gan  this  Realme  renew  her  passed  prime : 
He  of  his  name  Coylchester  built  of  stone  and  lime. 

68  This  legend  is  not  included  in  the  edition  of  1587,  but  was  printed 
in  1578  under  the  title,  "The  Seconde  part  of  the  Mirrour  for  Magis- 
trates, conteining  the  falles  of  the  infortunate  Princes  of  this  Lande. 
From  the  Conquest  of  Caesar,  into  the  comyng  of  Duke  William  the 
Conqueror." 


COMPARISON  125 

59.  Which  when  the  Romanes  heard,  they  hither  sent 

Constantius,  a  man  of  mickle  might, 

With  whome  King  Coyll  made  an  agreement, 

And  to  him  gave  for  wife  his  daughter  bright, 

Fayre  Helena,  the  fairest  living  wight; 

Who  in  all  godly  thewes  and  goodly  praise 

Did  far  excell,  but  was  most  famous  hight 

For  skil  in  Music ke  of  all  in  her  dales, 

As  well  in  curious  instruments  as  cunning  laies. 

G.  of  M.9  V,  6,  p.  64.  Coel,  Duke  of  Colchester,  killed 
Asclepiodotus  in  battle  and  became  king.  Constantius,  who 
was  sent  to  reduce  Britain,  made  terms  with  Coel.  Coel 
died  soon  after.  "  Quo  defuncto  insignivit  se  Constantius 
regni  diademate;  duxitque  filiam  Coel,  cui  nomen  erat 
Helena.  Pulchritudo  ejus  provinciates  puellas  superabat, 
nee  uspiam  reperiebatur  altera  quae  in  musicis  instruments 
sive  in  liberalibus  artibus  ilia  doctior  censer etur  "  (II.  18  ff). 

Hoi.,  Hist.,  p.  88.  Coellus  or  Coill,  earl  of  Colchester, 
king  of  the  Britons,  made  peace  with  Constantius,  and 
"  gaue  to  Constantius  his  daughter  in  manage  called 
Helene,  a  noble  Lady  and  a  lerned.  Shortly  after  king 
Coell  dyed  ..."  Holinshed  doubts  the  truth  of  this 
story. 

F lores  Historiarum,  I,  p.  168. 

"  Helenam  .  .  .  virginem  valde  speciosam,  artibus- 
que  liberalibus  et  instruments  musicis  ad  perfectum  erudi- 
tam  .  .  ." 

Ponticus  Virunnius,  ed.  1585,  p.  35. 

"  Helena,  pulchritudinis  inauditae,  nee  uspiam  reperiebatur 
altera,  quae  in  musicis  instrumentis,  sive  liberalibus  artibus 
doctior  ilia  censeretur :  nam  in  utraque  lingua  excellebat,  unde 
extant  adhuc  carmina  quaedam  Graeca,  quae  illius  fuisse  per- 
hibentur." 

Hardyng,  ch.  58,  p.  96. 

"  The  duke  Caire  Colun  (that  hight)   Coylus, 
Which  cytee  (nowe)  this  daye  Colchester  hight, 
Then  crowned  was,  (that  slewe)  Asclepiadotus." 


126          SPENSER'S  BRITISH  CHRONICLE  HISTORY 

Ch.  59.     Hardyng  says  of  Helen, 

"  Her  father  Coyle  set  her  to  be  excercysed, 
In  philosophye  and  other  scyence  clene," 

so  that  she  should  be  fitted  to  rule  the  realm. 

Caxton,  ch.  40. 

"tho  regned  Asclepades  in  qyete  till  one  of  his  erles  that 
me  callyd  Coill  made  a  fayre  toune  ageynste  the  kynges  wyll  / 
and  lete  calle  the  toune  colchester  after  his  name  wherfor 
the  king  was  ful  wroth  and  thought  destroye  therle  .  .  ." 

Ch.  45.  "  The  kynge  Coyll  yaf  his  doughter  Eleyn  to  Con- 
stance, for  to  haue  hyr  to  his  spouse  that  was  both  fayr  wyse 
&  good,  &  wel  lettred." 

Nauclerus,  p.  564. 

"  Asclepiodoto  interfecto,  Coel  succedit,  qui  Coelstriam 
condidit." 

Chambers,  Histoire  abregee,  p.  22. 

"  Coilus  septante  troisieme  Roy  de  la  grande  Bretagne, 
fils  du  susdit  Marius  estant  nourry  a  Rome  en  sa  ieunesse,  luy 
donna  occasion  non  seulement  de  demeurer  constant  en  payant 
son  tribut  aux  Remains :  mais  aussi  de  se  porter  enuers  ses 
subiects,  tant  riches  que  pauures,  fort  gratieusement,  ausquels 
il  faisoit  des  dons,  &  presens,  selow  la  qualite  d'vn  chacun, 
il  feist  bastir  la  ville  de  Colchester  dicte  de  son  nom,  ou  il 
est  enterre." 

The  first  part  of  Spenser's  account  of  Coel  differs  from 
Geoffrey's  in  two  points.  Spenser  says  that  Coel  was  the 
first  since  Lucius  to  be  crowned  king.  This  directly  con- 
tradicts several  of  Geoffrey's  statements,  as  for  instance,  his 
statement  that  Asclepiodotus  was  crowned  and  that  Coel 
took  his  crown  from  him.69  No  authority  for  Spenser's  as- 
sertion has  as  yet  been  discovered.  As  regards  the  second 
point  in  which  he  differs  from  Geoffrey,  the  case  is  dif- 

68  G.  of  M.,  V,  5-6. 


COMPARISON  127 

ferent.  For  the  founding  of  Colchester  by  Coel  there  is 
authority  in  Caxton,  Nauclerus,  and  Chambers.  Of  these 
three  Caxton  is  the  most  likely  to  have  been  Spenser's 
source.  The  first  line  of  Spenser's  account  of  Coel, 

"  Who   after   long   debate,   since   Lucies  tyme," 

also  shows  the  influence  of  Caxton,  who  wrote,  "  for  after 
this  kyng  lucyes  deth  /  none  of  the  grete  of  the  land  wold 
suffre  another  to  be  kyng,  but  lyved  in  werre  /  and  in  de- 
bate amonges  hem  L  yere  without  kyng."  70  It  is  even  pos- 
sible that  this  passage  suggested  Spenser's  statement  that 
Coel  was  the  first  crowned  sovereign  since  the  time  of  Lu- 
cius. The  last  part  of  Spenser's  account  of  Coel  follows 
Geoffrey  closely  in  the  description  of  Helena,  and  in  the 
reference  to  her  skill  in  musical  instruments  gives  a  detail 
which  can  be  found  only  in  Geoffrey  and  in  two  chronicles 
which  at  this  point  repeat  his  story  almost  verbatim, — 
namely,  the  Flores  Historiarum,  and  the  Sex  Libri  of  Pon- 
ticus  Virunnius.  At  the  same  time,  Spenser  even  here  in 
one  important  point  follows  Caxton,  Holinshed,  and  the 
other  later  chroniclers  in  preference  to  Geoffrey,  by  repre- 
senting Coel  as  giving  Helena  to  Constantius  in  marriage, 
although  Geoffrey  says  that  Constantius  married  her  after 
the  death  of  Coel.  In  his  account  of  Coel,  therefore,  as 
so  often  before,  Spenser  seems  to  base  his  narrative  on 
Geoffrey's,  but  modifies  it  according  to  the  statements  made 
by  the  later  chroniclers,  in  this  case  apparently  according  to 
those  of  Caxton  in  particular. 


60.  Of  whom  he  did  great  Constantine  begett, 
Who  afterward  was  Emiperour  of  Rome, 
To  which  whiles  absent  he  his  mind  did  sett, 
Octavius  here  lept  into  his  roome, 
And  it  usurped  by  unrighteous  doome : 
But  he  his  title  justifide  by  might, 

70  Caxton,  ch.  40.     See  p.  114,  above. 


128          SPENSER'S  BRITISH  CHRONICLE  HISTORY 

Slaying  Traherne,  and  having  overcome 

The  Romane  legion  in  dreadfull  fight. 

So  settled  he  his  kingdome,  and  confirmd  his  right: 

G.  of  M.,  V ,  6-8,  pp.  64  if.  Constantinus,  son  of  Coel 
and  Helena,  freed  Rome  from  the  tyrant  Maxentius,  and 
became  Emperor  of  Rome.  Octavius,  in  Britain,  rebelled 
aginst  Rome.  Constantinus  sent  Trahern  against  him. 
After  severe  fighting,  Trahern  was  successful,  but  later  he 
was  slain  in  ambush,  and  Octavius  recovered  the  throne. 
"  Regnum  autem  Britanniae  ab  illo  tempore  usque  in  diem 
Gratiani  et  Valentiniani  feliciter  obtinuit"  (ch.  8,  //.  35  ft., 
p.  66.) 

HoL,  Hist.,  pp.  90  if.  Holinshed  repeats  Geoffrey's 
story,  but  has  additions  from  Roman  authors.  Traherne 
is  said  to  have  been  slain  by  an  Earl  of  Britain  who  bore 
good  will  to  Octavius.  The  story  of  Helen  and  the  cross 
is  told. 

Hardyng,  ch.  63,  p.  100  /.  The  miraculous  cure  of  Con- 
stantyne's  leprosy  and  St.  Elin's  seeking  the  cross  are  both 
given.  After  the  death  of  Constantyne,  Octavius  usurped 
the  throne. 

Spenser  reproduces  here  the  narrative  of  Geoffrey.  Al- 
though the  verbal  coincidence  is  by  no  means  exact,  the 
last  line  in  particular  seems  to  have  had  its  source  in  the 
Historia. 


61.  But  wanting  yssew  male,  his  daughter  deare 

He  gave  in  wedlocke  to  Maximian, 

And  him  with  her  made  of  his  kingdome  heyre, 

Who  soone  by  meanes  thereof  the  Empire  wan, 

Till  murdred  by  the  freends  of  Gratian. 

Then  gan  the  Hunnes  and  Picts  invade  this  land, 

During  the  raigne  of  Maximinian; 

Who  dying  left  none  heire  them  to  withstand, 

But  that  they  overran  all  parts  with  easy  hand. 


COMPARISON  129 

G.  of  M.,  V}  9-16,  pp.  66  ff.  Octavius,  having  no  son, 
and  but  one  daughter,  married  her  to  Maximianus,  and 
made  him  heir  to  the  throne.  Conanus,  the  nephew  of  Oc- 
tavius, who  had  desired  the  kingdom  for  himself,  rebelled, 
was  defeated,  rebelled  again,  and  was  finally  reconciled  with 
Maximianus  through  the  intervention  of  friends.  Five 
years  later  Maximianus  conquered  Gaul,  settled  it  with  a 
hundred  thousand  of  the  common  people  of  Britain,  and 
made  Conanus  ruler.  He  then  conquered  Germany  and 
made  the  seat  of  his  empire  at  Triers.  Meanwhile  Conanus 
sent  to  Britain  for  wives  for  his  men.  Eleven  thousand 
daughters  of  the  nobility  and  sixty  thousand  of  the  women 
of  lower  rank  were  dispatched.  They  were  ship-wrecked 
and  those  who  escaped  drowning  fell  into  the  hands  of 
Guanius,  king  of  the  Huns,  and  Melga,  king  of  the  Picts, 
by  whom  they  were  murdered.  These  two  kings,  by  com- 
mand of  Gratianus,  were  then  harrying  Germany.  When 
they  learned  that  the  fighting  men  had  been  withdrawn 
from  Britain  they  attacked  and  laid  waste  the  island. 
Maximianus  sent  two  legions  who  drove  the  enemy  out. 
"  Interea  Maximianus  Romae  interfectus  est  ab  amicis 
Gratiani  .  .  ."  (1.  43  /.,  p.  73.) 

HoL,  Hist.,  p.  93.  "  Maxentius  was  sonne  to  Herculeus 
Maximinianus.71  Constantine  had  marryed  Fausta  the 
daughter  of  the  sayde  Maximinianus.  Nowe  so  it  was 
that  Maximinianus  immediately  after  that  his  son  Maxentius 
hadde  taken  the  rule  vpon  hym,  sought  meanes  to  haue  de- 
posed hym  .  .  ."  The  name  is  given  later  as  Her- 
culeus Maximinus. 

p.  95  /.  Heading  of  chapter,  "  Maximianus  or  rather' 
Maximus."  After  the  death  of  Octavius,  Maximianus  be- 
gan to  rule  the  Britons.  "  Finally  this  Maximianus,  or  as 
the  Romaine  histories  haue,  Maximus,  was  by  the  soul- 
dioures  chosen  and  proclaimed  Emperour  here  in  Britayne : 
although  some  write  that  this  was  done  in  Spayn."  The 

71  In  edition  1587  (vol.  I,  Hist,  of  Eng.,  p.  64)  this  is  corrected 
throughout  to  Maximianus.  See  p.  123,  above. 


130          SPENSER'S  BRITISH  CHRONICLE  HISTORY 

story  of  the  virgins  is  told,  and  the  death  of  Maximus  is 
thus  described :  "  In  this  meane  while,  Maximus  hauing 
slain  the  Emperour  Gratian  at  Lyon  in  France,  and  after 
entring  into  Italy e,  was  slain  himself  at  Aquileia  (after  he 
had  gouerned  the  Britons  eight  yeares),  by  the  emperour 
Theodosius,  whyche  came  in  ayde  of  Valentinian,  brother 
to  the  said  emperor  Gratian,  as  in  the  Abridgement  of  the 
histories  of  Italy  ye  may  fynde  recorded." 

Hardyng,  ch.  63,  p.  104. 

"  Maximian  the  emperoure  of  Romayn, 

When  he  had  reigned  XXXIIII  yere, 

By  Gracyaws  frendes  was  buried,72  &  layd  on  bere." 

Before  investigating  the  source  of  this  stanza  it  is  nec- 
essary to  consider  the  meaning  of  the  last  four  lines.  Is 
the  Maximinian  of  the  seventh  line  the  same  as  the  Max- 
imian of  the  second?  Professor  Child  has  suggested  that 
Maximinian  was  "  put  by  oversight  for  Valentinian."  But 
this  would  make  Valentinian  the  sovereign  who  died  and 
left  no  heirs,  whereas  that  statement  seems  to  refer  to 
Maximian.  It  is  more  probable  that  Maximinian  is  simply 
another  form  of  Maximian,  and  that  the  line, 

"  During  the  raigne  of  Maximinian  " 

is  an  expansion  of  the  "  then  "  of  the  preceding  line.  This 
interpretation  would  agree  with  the  facts  in  Geoffrey,  for 
according  to  his  story  it  was  during  the  reign  of  Maximianus 
that  the  Huns  and  Picts  invaded  England,  and  as  no  heirs 
of  this  ruler  are  mentioned  the  natural  inference  is  that  he 
left  none.  The  probability  in  favor  of  this  explanation  be- 
comes a  certainty  when  we  note  that  the  two  forms  of  the 
name  are  used  interchangeably  in  the  first  edition  of  Holins- 
hed,73  with  which  Spenser  was  undoubtedly  familiar. 
Spenser  probably  without  hesitation  used  the  long  form 
when  the  metre  required  it. 

72  slayne. 


•  siayne. 
73  See  pp.  123  and  129,  above. 


COMPARISON  131 

Accepting  the  identity  of  the  names,  we  find  that  so  much 
of  the  story  as  is  given  agrees  with  the  Historic,™  and 
that  the  line,  "  murdred  by  the  freends  of  Gratian,"  re- 
peats Geoffrey's  statement.  This  fact  is  to  be  found  also 
in  Ponticus  Virunnius  75  and  in  Hardyng,  but  not  in  Hol- 
inshed  or  in  the  majority  of  the  other  chronicles.  Never- 
theless Holinshed  may  be  assumed  to  have  had  some  influ- 
ence, because  of  the  form  Maximinian.  Holinshed  and 
Geoffrey  together,  therefore,  seem  to  have  been  Spenser's 
sources. 


62.  The  weary  Britons,  whose  war-hable  youth 
Was  by  Maximian  lately  ledd  aivay, 

With  wretched  miseryes  and  woefull  ruth, 

Were  to  those  Pagans  made  an  open  pray, 

And  daily  spectacle  of  sad  decay : 

Whome  Romane  warres,  which  now  fowr  hundred  yeares 

And  more  had  wasted,  could  no  whit  dismay; 

Til,  by  consent  of  Commons  and  of  Peares, 

They  crownd  the  second  Constantine  with  joyous  teares. 

63.  Who  having  oft  in  batteill  vanquished 
Those  spoylefull  Picts,  and  swarming  Easterlings, 
Long  time  in  peace  his  realme  established, 

Yet  oft  annoyd  with  sondry  bordragings, 

Of  neighbour  Scots,  and  for  rein  Scatterlings 

With  which  the  world  did  in  those  dayes  abound : 

Which  to  outbarre,  with  painefull  pyonings 

From  sea  to  sea  he  heapt  a  mighty  mound, 

Which  from  Alcluid  to  Panwelt  did  that  border  bownd. 

G.  of  M.,  V,  16,  and  VI,  1-5,  pp.  72  ff.  Maximianus 
led  the  young  men  away.  "  Abduxerat  enim  secum  Max- 
imianus (ut  praedictum  est)  omnes  bellicosos  juvenes  qui 

74  The  omission  of  the  story  of  the  virgins,  like  the  omission  of  St. 
Helena's  search  for  the  cross,  seems  due  to  a  desire  to  confine  the 
chronicle  to  matters  that  directly  concern  Britain. 

™Ed.  1585,  p.  41. 


132          SPENSER'S  BRITISH  CHRONICLE  HISTORY 

reperiri  potuerant :  inermesque  colonos  atque  inconsultos 
reliquerat "  (V.  16,  //.  34  if.,  p.  73).  The  same  state- 
ment is  repeated  twice  later  (VI,  2,  /.  14,  p.  74,  and  3, 
/.  23,  p.  76).  Gratianus  Municeps  usurped  the  crown  but 
was  so  tyrannous  that  the  common  people  killed  him.  Then 
the  Picts  and  Huns  returned  from  Ireland  and  brought  with 
them  the  Scots,  Norwegians,  and  Dacians.  Rome  was  in- 
duced to  send  a  single  legion  to  the  aid  of  the  Britons. 
The  Romans  ordered  a  wall  to  be  built  from  sea  to  sea, 
between  Albania  and  Deira.  This  was  done.  Then  the 
Romans  withdrew,  and  the  Britons,  incapable  of  self-de- 
fence, turned  for  help  to  Aldroenus  of  Armorica,  a  descend- 
ant of  Conanus,  and  fourth  king  after  him.  Aldroenus 
sent  his  brother  Constantmus,  who  drove  out  the  enemy  and 
became  king.  After  ten  years  he  was  stabbed  by  a  Pict 
who  had  taken  service  under  him. 

Hoi.,  Hist.,  pp.  96  if.  There  is  a  quotation  from  Gildas 
in  which  Maximian  is  said  to  have  taken  with  him  the 
youth  of  Britain.  "  From  thencefoorth  Britayne  being  de- 
priued  of  all  hir  warlyke  souldiours  and  armies,  of  hir 
gouernours  also,  though  cruell,  and  of  an  huge  number  of 
hir  youthe  (the  whiche  following  the  steppes  of  the  fore- 
sayde  tyraunt,  neuer  retourned  home  agayne  suche  as  re- 
mayned  beyng  vtterly  vnskilfull  in  feats  of  warre,  were  trod- 
den downe  by  two  nations  of  beyonde  the  seas,  the  Scots 
from  the  Weast,  and  the  Pictes  from  the  North  .  .  ." 
The  soldiers  elected  Constantine  as  their  emperor  to  suc- 
ceed Gratianus.  His  eldest  son,  Constans,  was  a  monk,  but 
he  made  him  "  partaker  with  him  in  the  empire,"  and  sent 
him  with  an  army  to  subdue  Spain.  Constantius  slew  Con- 
stantine, and  Constans  was  killed  by  one  of  his  own  men. 

The  story  returns  to  Gratian,  or  Gracianus.  He  died, 
and  then  Guanius  and  Melga  "  returned  into  thys  lande  with 
their  armies  encreased  with  newe  supplyes  of  menne  of 
warre,  as  Scottes,  Danes,  and  Norwegians,  and  destroyed 
the  countrey  from  side  to  syde  "  (/>.  99).  The  Romans  as- 
sisted the  Britons.  "  But  the  Romaynes  beeing  occasioned 


COMPARISON  133 

to  depart  agayne  out  of  the  lande,  appointed  ye  Britaynes 
to  make  a  wall  (as  had  bin  made  aforetime  by  the  Emperors 
Adrian,  Antoninus  &  Seuerus)  ouerthwart  the  couwtrey 
from  sea  to  sea,  stretching  from  Penuelton  vnto  the  Citie 
of  Alclud,  whereby  the  enimies  might  be  stayed  from  en- 
tring  the  lande:  but  this  wall  being  made  of  turfe  and 
soddes,  rather  than  with  stones,  after  the  departure  of  the 
Romanes  was  easily  ouerthrowen  by  the  Scottes  &  Pictes 
.  .  ."  (p.  100).  Then  the  Romans  came  again  and 
built  a  stone  wall  in  the  place  where  Severus  "  caused  his 
trench  and  rampire  to  be  cast." 

p.  102.  Constantine,  brother  to  Aldroenus,  became  king 
thirty-nine  years  after  the  death  of  Gratian.  The  time  is 
given  on  the  authority  of  Fabian. 

pp.  102-108.     A  digression  about  the  Scots  and  Picts. 

p.  1 08.  Constantinus,  brother  of  Aldroenus,  came  out 
of  little  Britain,  conquered  the  enemy  (slaying  Guanius) 
and  was  crowned  king  "  of  great  Britain."  He  had  three 
sons.  The  eldest,  Constantius,  he  made  a  monk.  He  him- 
self was  slain  by  a  Pict. 

p.  109.  "  Neither  the  Romaine  writers,  nor  Beda,  make 
any  mention  of  this  Constantine,  but  of  the  other  Constan- 
tine they  write,  which  immediately  after  that  the  vsurper 
Gracian  was  dispatched  out  of  the  way  (as  before  ye  haue 
heard)  was  aduaunced  to  the  rule  of  this  land  .  .  ." 
This  was  about  the  year  415,  while  the  brother  of  Aldroenus 
was  crowned  in  433. 

Stow,  p.  48. 

"  Now  the  Brytaines  building  the  wall  which  they  were 
bid  to  make,  not  of  stones,  as  they  were  willed,  but  of  turfe, 
as  hauing  none  among  them  that  had  skill  therein,  made  it  so 
slender,  that  it  serued  them  to  little  purpose.  This  wall  they 
made  betweene  the  two  armes  or  creekes  of  the  sea,  many 
miles  long,  that  where  the  fence  of  the  water  lacked,  there 
by  the  helpe  of  the  trench  they  might  keepe  their  countrey 
from  the  breaking  in  of  their  enimies,  of  which  piece  of 
worke  there  remaineth  euen  vnto  this  day,  most  assured 
tokens  yet  to  be  scene.  This  trench  beginneth  about  two 


134 


SPENSER'S  BRITISH  CHRONICLE  HISTORY 


miles  from  the  monastery  of  Abercuring,  in  a  place  which  in 
the  Picts  language  is  called  Penuahill,  and  in  the  English  is 
called  Panwelt,  and  running  out  Westward,  is  ended  by  the 
Citty  Alcluith." 

p.  9.     Allcuid  in  Albania. 

Fabyan,  p.  52.  "  This  walle,  as  testyfyeth  Policronica,  was 
made  of  Turuys,  and  strechid,  from  Pemiltonne  or  Penultonne 
vnto  the  Cytie  of  Acliut  or  Acliud." 

This  passage  begins  with  two  lines  which  are  practically 
a  translation  from  Geoffrey's  Latin.  It  continues,  how- 
ever, with  a  story  that  is  very  different  from  Geoffrey's. 
Spenser  omits  all  mention  of  Gratianus  Municeps  and  of 
the  assistance  sent  to  the  Britons  by  the  Romans.  He  has- 
tens the  accession  of  Constantine,  and  ascribes  to  him  the 
building  of  the  wall.  All  these  changes  may  have  resulted 
from  the  peculiarities  of  Holinshed's  Chronicles,  where  the 
story  of  Constantine  is  told  before  the  wall  is  mentioned. 
Holinshed's  narrative  is,  at  this  point,  so  entangled  with 
discussions  about  the  two  Constantines  and  so  confused 
that  Spenser  may  easily  have  misunderstood  it.  Or  he  may 
have  felt  that  Holinshed's  uncertainty  about  the  facts  war- 
ranted him  in  taking  liberties  with  them  himself.  Spen- 
ser's description  of  the  wall  may  have  been  based  on  Hol- 
inshed,  although  here  the  influence  of  Stow  seems  to  appear 
in  the  name  Panwelt.  Spenser's  Easterlings  and  "  for- 
rein  Scatterlings  "  are  evidently  the  same  people,  and  cor- 
respond to  the  Norwegians  and  Dacians  of  Geoffrey  and 
Holinshed.  The  name  "  Easterlings  "  is  probably  due  to 
Holinshed.76  Finally,  Spenser's  reference  to  the  four 
hundred  years  of  war  with  the  Romans  seems  to  come 
from  the  statement  of  Nennius  to  the  effect  that  the 
Romans  governed  the  Britons  409  years.77  To  the  making 
of  these  two  stanzas  there  went,  apparently,  material  from 
Geoffrey,  Nennius,  Holinshed,  and  Stow.  The  result  is  a 

76  See  pp.  97-98,  above. 

77  Nennius,  sect.  28:    Six  Old  English  Chronicles,  p.  395. 


COMPARISON  135 

narrative  unlike  any  of  the  earlier  ones,  yet  so  compounded 
of  familiar  facts  that  the  difference  almost  escapes  detec- 
tion. 


64.  Three  sones  he  dying  left,  all  under  age ; 
By  meanes  whereof  their  uncle  Vortigere 
Usurpt  the  crowne  during  their  pupillage ; 
Which  th'  Infants  tutors  gathering  to  feare, 
Them  closely  into  Armorick  did  beare : 
For  dread  of  whom,  and  for  those  Picts  annoyes, 
He  sent  to  Germany  straunge  aid  to  reare ; 
From  whence  eftsoones  arrived  here  three  hoyes 
Of  Saxons,  whom  he  for  his  safety  imployes. 

G.  of  M.,  VI,  6-io,  pp.  78  if.  Constantinus  left  three 
sons.  The  eldest,  Constans,  was  a  monk,  and  the  other 
two,  on  their  father's  death,  were  too  young  to  rule.  Vor- 
tegirnus,  their  uncle,  had  Constans  crowned.  Constans 
proved  incapable,  so  Vortegirnus,  by  the  aid  of  Picts  whom 
he  had  invited  into  the  kingdom,  had  Constans  killed  and 
usurped  the  crown.  Meanwhile  those  who  had  charge  of 
the  younger  sons  of  Constantinus  fled  with  them  into  lesser 
Britain.  The  Picts,  resenting  the  punishment  of  their 
countrymen  who  had  been  the  tools  of  Vortegirnus,  turned 
against  him.  He  was  also  in  fear  of  the  two  sons  of  Con- 
stantinus, who  were  now  grown  to  man's  estate,  and  were 
said  to  be  about  to  return  to  demand  the  kingdom  which 
rightfully  belonged  to  them.  "  Interea  applicuerunt  tres 
celoces,  quas  longas  naves  dicimus,  in  partes  Cantiae,  arma- 
tis  militibus  plenae,  quibus  duo  fratres  Horsus  et  Hengistus 
ducatum  praestabant  "  (ch.  10,  //.  i  ft.,  p.  81).  These  men 
had  been  chosen  by  lot  to  leave  Germany  because  the  coun- 
try had  become  crowded. 

HoL,  Hist.,  pp.  109  if.  Constantius  had  been  made  a 
monk,  but  nevertheless  was  crowned  and  afterward  killed. 
The  story  follows  Geoffrey's.  Then  Vortigerne  dissembled 
before  the  people.  "  Herevppon  came  it  to  passe,  that  when 


136          SPENSER'S  BRITISH  CHRONICLE  HISTORY 

the  couwsell  was  assembled  to  elect  a  new  king,  for  so  much 
as  the  other  sonnes  of  king  Constantine  were  not  of  age  suffi- 
cient to  rule,  Vortigerne  himselfe  was  chosen  .  .  ." 
(p.  no).  Holinshed  says  (p.  in)  that  Vortigerne  sent 
for  the  Saxons,  but  later  (p.  112)  he  refers  to  the  other 
story  of  their  coming  unsummoned. 

Gild&s  (Six  Old  English  Chronicles,  ed.  J.  A.  Giles,  p. 
310).  The  councillors  of  the  country,  with  Gurthrigen, 
the  British  king,  sent  for  the  Saxons  to  protedt  their  king- 
dom. 

Bede,  II,  5  (ed.  Plummer,  I,  p.  90). 

"  Hengist  .  .  .  inuitatus  a  Uurtigerno  Brittaniam 
primus  intrauit  .  .  ." 

Hardyng,  ch.  67,  p.  109. 

"  Engist  and  Horsus,  dukes  of  great  renoune ; 
By  sort  sent  out  all  voyde  of  Saxonye." 

There  follows  the  story  of  Thongcastre,  the  account  of 
Rowena  and  the  wassail,  etc. 


Mir.  for  Mag.,  Vortigern,  st.  20,  vol.  I,  p.  401. 


78 


"  For  which  I  sent  and  did  obtayne  a  bande 
Of  Saxons     .     .     ." 

The  story  of  Constans,  the  monk  who  was  crowned  king, 
Spenser  has  omitted,  perhaps  because  in  Geoffrey  it  was 
crowded  with  incidents,  and  in  the  later  chroniclers  became 
confused,  was  continually  a  subject  for  argument,  and  was 
often  denied,  either  as  a  whole  or  in  part.  In  making  the 
omission  Spenser  changed  the  story  as  little  as  possible.  He 
retained  the  statement  that  Constantinus  left  three  sons,  but 
he  said  that  all  three  were  under  age.  Presumably  all  three 
were  taken  by  their  tutors  into  Armorica.  Later,  how- 
ever, we  hear  only  of  Ambrose  and  Uther.  The  third  son 
has  dropped  out,  No  device  for  brevity  could  be  simpler 

78  Omitted  in  ed.   1578. 


COMPARISON  137 

or  less  conspicuous.  Besides  leaving  out  Constans,  Spenser 
changed  the  story  of  the  coming  of  the  Saxons  to  agree 
with  the  account  in  Gildas  and  Bede,  an  account  which  was 
often  repeated  in  the  later  chroniclers.  The  Saxons,  in- 
stead of  coming  by  chance,  are  invited  by  Vortigern.  As 
Geoffrey  himself  represented  Vortigern  as  asking  aid  of  the 
Picts,  this  other  story  must  have  seemed  to  be  in  character. 
Caxton  and  Holinshed,  to  mention  two  extremes  in  time 
among  the  printed  chronicles,  accept  it,  although  Holinshed 
mentions  in  addition  Geoffrey's  version.  The  Mirror  for 
Magistrates  follows  the  altered  form.  Spenser  is  therefore 
in  harmony  with  several  later  authorities  in  this  part  of  his 
story.  There  is  no  way  to  determine  which  of  the  possible 
sources  he  followed.  It  is  probable,  as  we  have  noted  in 
other  cases,  that  he  was  influenced  by  the  agreement  of  the 
chronicles. 


65.  Two  brethren  were  their  Capitayns,  which  hight 
Hengist  and  Horsus,  well  approv'd  in  warre, 

And  both  of  them  men  of  renowmed  might ; 
Who  making  vantage  of  their  civile  Jarre, 
And  of  those  forreyners  which  came  from  farre, 
Grew  great,  and  got  large  portions  of  land, 
That  in  the  Realme  ere  long  they  stronger  arre 
Then  they  which  sought  at  first  their  helping  hand, 
And  Vortiger  have  forst  the  kingdome  to  aband. 

66.  But  by  the  helpe  of  Vortimere  his  sonne, 
He  is  againe  unto  his  rule  restord; 

And  Hengist,  seeming  sad  for  that  was  donne, 

Received  is  to  grace  and  new  accord, 

Through  his  'faire  daughters  face  and  flattring  word. 

Soone  after  which  three  hundred  Lords  he  slew 

Of  British  blood,  all  sitting  at  his  bord ; 

Whose  dolefull  moniments  who  list  to  rew, 

Th'  eternall  marks  of  treason  may  at  Stonheng  vew. 


138          SPENSER'S  BRITISH  CHRONICLE  HISTORY 

G.  of  M.,  VI,  10-17,  pp.  81  if.  Vortegirnus  received  the 
Saxons  kindly  and  by  their  help  won  a  victory  over  the 
Picts.  He  gave  land  to  Hengistus,  who  used  the  device  of 
the  thong  to  increase  the  amount  of  land  he  was  to  receive. 
Many  more  Saxons  came.  Among  the  first  of  them  was 
Rowen,  daughter  of  Hengistus.  Vortegirnus  saw,  loved, 
and  secretly  married  her.  Thereafter  the  power  and  the 
arrogance  of  the  Saxons  increased  to  such  an  extent  that 
the  Britons  rebelled  against  Vortegirnus,  and  made  Vorti- 
merus,  his  son  by  an  earlier  marriage,  king.  Vortimerus 
succeeded  in  driving  the  heathen  out.  He  was  poisoned  by 
Rowen,  and  Vortegirnus  was  again  restored  to  the  king- 
dom. Hengistus  promptly  returned  and  treacherously,  at 
a  banquet,  slew  460  of  the  Britons.  He  then  forced  Vor- 
tegirnus to  yield  the  chief  cities  of  the  kingdom  to  him. 
Not  satisfied  with  this,  he  devastated  the  country  far  and 
wide.  Vortegirnus  fled  to  Cambria. 

VI,  17 — VIII,  i,  pp.  89  if.  Vortegirnus  seeks  out 
Merlinus.  The  prophecy  of  Merlinus. 

VIII,  9-12,  pp.  107  if.  To  mark  the  place  "  ubi  con- 
sules  et  principes  jacebant,  quos  nefandus  Hengistus  pro- 
diderat "  (/.  18  /.,  p.  108),  Aurelius,  assisted  by  the  ma- 
gician Merlinus,  had  the  Giant's  Dance  moved  from  Kil- 
laraus,  a  mountain  in  Ireland,  and  set  up  on  the  mountain 
of  Ambrius,  where  the  dead  lay. 

XL  4,  p.  158.  These  stones  are  called  Stanheng,  and  are 
said  to  be  not  far  from  Salisbury. 

HoL,  Hist.,  pp.  in  if.  The  Saxons  were  led  by  two 
brothers,  Hengist  and  Horsus.  Vortigerne  married 
Rowen,  the  daughter  of  Hengist,  and  was  deposed  by  the 
Britons.  His  son  Vortimer  was  made  king  and  afterwards 
poisoned  by  Rowen.  Vortigerne  was  restored.  The  Brit- 
ons were  slaughtered  by  Hengist  at  a  meeting  place  on  Salis- 
bury plain,  but  the  number  of  the  slain  is  not  given  in  this 
version  of  the  story  except  in  a  marginal  note  in  which 
Geoffrey  is  quoted  as  stating  the  number  460.  "  William 
Malmesb.  wryteth  somewhat  otherwise  of  this  taking  of 


COMPARISON  139 

Wortigerne  .  .  .  Hengist  ...  by  a  colourable 
craft  procureth  his  sonne  in  lawe  Wortigerne  to  come  to  a 
banket  to  his  house,  wyth  three  hundred  other  Brytaynes, 
and  when  hee  had  made  them  well  and  warme  with  often 
quaffing  and  emptying  of  cuppes,  and  of  purpose  touched 
everye  of  them  wyth  one  bytter  taunte  or  other,  they  first 
fell  to  multiplying  of  malicious  wordes,  and  after  to  blowes, 
so  that  the  Brytaynes  were  slaine  euery  mothers  sonne 
.  .  .  The  king  was  captured  (p.  118). 

p.  1 1 6.  William  Malmesbury  is  quoted  as  authority  for 
another  story.  "  William  Malmes.  wryting  of  this  Worti- 
mer  or  Guortigerne  .  .  .  Guortimer,  the  sonne  of 
Wortimer  (sayth  he)  .  .  .  setteth  his  full  purpose 
to  dryue  them"  (the  Saxons)  "out  of  the  Realme,  and 
kyndleth  his  father  to  the  like  attempt."  After  being  vic- 
torious, Guortimer  died. 

pp.  119  ff.     The  Pelagian  heresy. 

p.  123.  "  Also  for  a  perpetuall  memorie  of  those  Britaynes 
that  were  slayne  on  the  playne  of  Salisburie  by  the  treason  of 
Hengist,  he  caused  stones  to  bee  fetched  out  of  Irelande,  and 
to  be  set  vp  in  the  same  place  where  that  slaughter  was  com- 
mitted, and  called  the  place  Stonheng,  whiche  name  continueth 
vnto  this  day." 

William  of  Malmesbury,  p.  1 1  f.  "  Vortemer  filius  Worti- 
gerni,  haudquaquam  ultra  dissimulandum  ratus,  quod  se 
Britonesque  suos  Anglorum  dolo  perverti  cerneret,  ad  expul- 
sionem  eorum  mentem  intendit,  simulque  patrem  ad  idem  au- 
dendum  incendit  .  .  .  Interea  Hengestus  .  .  .  gen- 
erum  ad  convivium  cum  trecentis  suorum  invitat." 

Hardyng,  ch.  70,  p.  116.  After  Aurelius  Ambrose  had 
killed  Engist, 

"  The  kyng  then  made  a  worthy  sepulture, 

(With'ye  stone  hengles,)  79  by  Merlins  whole  aduise 

For  all  the  lordes  Brytons  hye'80  nature 

That  there  were  slain  in  false  and  cruell  wise, 

7»Withyn  Stonehenge. 
so  of  high. 


140          SPENSER'S  BRITISH  CHRONICLE  HISTORY 

By  false  Engest,  and  his  feloes  vnwise; 

In  remembraunce  of  his  forcasten  treason, 

Without  cause,  or  (any  els)  encheson." 

La^amon,  ed.  Madden,  vol.  II,  p.  216,  /.  15306.  350 
Britons  were  slain  by  Hengist. 

Ill,  p.  357.     M  add  en's  note. 

".  .  .  in  Alfred  of  Beverly,  in  the  anonymous  Anglo- 
Norman  Brut,  in  Robert  of  Brunne,  and  in  the  Welsh  copies, 
the  number  is  360.  Nennius  reduces  it  to  300." 

Pierre  de  Lang  toff,  p.  108.  The  number  of  Britons  slain 
by  Hengist  was  340. 

Chambers,  Histoire  abregee,  p.  56.  Vortigern  was 
taken  prisoner,  "  &  trois  cens  de  sa  noblesse  presque  tous 
tuez  par  la  trahison  de  Hengistus  .  ... 

Spenser,  in  his  account  of  Vortiger,  Hengist,  and  Horsa, 
makes  two  changes  in  Geoffrey's  narrative.  First,  he  says 
that  Vortiger  was  restored  to  his  kingdom  by  the  help  of 
his  son,  Vortimer,  whereas,  according  to  Geoffrey,  Vorti- 
merus  was  made  king  instead  of  his  father.  Secondly, 
Spenser  says  that  three  hundred  Lords  were  slain  by  Hen- 
gist,  whereas  Geoffrey  gives  the  number  as  four  hundred 
and  sixty.  Both  of  Spenser's  statements  are  authorized 
by  Holinshed,  who  quotes  as  his  authority  William  of 
Malmesbury.  This  account  of  Vortimer  does  not  occur 
elsewhere.  But  the  number  of  the  slaughtered  guests  is 
given  as  three  hundred  by  Nennius  and  much  later  by 
Chambers,  and  is  variously  placed  between  three  and  four 
hundred  by  other  writers,  although  Geoffrey's  number  is 
the  one  most  commonly  given.  We  have  here,  therefore, 
an  unusual  situation.  Spenser's  story  differs  from  Geof- 
frey's, not  to  follow  the  popular  story  of  the  later  chron- 
icles, but  to  reproduce  a  rare  form, —  in  one  case,  what  was 
to  him,  perhaps,  an  unique  form.81  There  is  a  possible 

81  Spenser's  reasons   for  such  a  change  are  not  obvious.     He  may 


COMPARISON  141 

slight  influence  from  Hardyng  in  the  account  of  Stone- 
henge.  Except  for  that  Spenser's  source  may  have  been 
Holinshed  alone.82 


67.  By  this  the  sonnes  of  Constantine,  which  fled, 

Ambrose  and  Uther,  did  ripe  yeares  attayne, 

And,  here  arriving,  strongly  challenged 

The  crowne  which  Vortiger  did  long  detayne : 

Who,  flying  from  his  guilt,  by  them  was  slayne; 

And  Hengist  eke  soon  brought  to  shamefull  death. 

Thenceforth  Aurelius  peaceably  did  rayne, 

Till  that  through  poyson  stopped  was  his  breath; 

So  now  entombed  lies  at  Stoneheng  by  the  heath. 

G.  of  M.,  VIII,  1-14,  pp.  1 01  ff.  Aurelius  Ambrosius 
and  his  brother  arrived  in  Britain,  invaded  Cambria  in  pur- 
suit of  Vortegirnus,  and  burned  him  to  death  in  the  tower 
in  which  he  had  taken  refuge.  They  then  turned  against 
Hengist,  whom  they  captured  and  beheaded.  They  killed 
the  Saxons  without  mercy.  Finally  they  made  a  treaty 
with  the  Saxons  and  allowed  them  to  settle  on  the  borders 
of  Scotland.  Having  reduced  his  enemies,  Aurelius  turned 
his  attention  to  the  internal  affairs  of  his  kingdom.  The 
Saxons  from  Germany  again  invaded  the  country,  but  were 
driven  back.  They  made  a  second  invasion.  Eopa,  a 
Saxon,  succeeded  in  poisoning  Aurelius. 

have  preferred  William  of  Malmesbury  as  an  authority.  He  may  have 
thought  this  story  of  Vortimere  reflected  more  glory  on  the  British 
kings.  He  may  have  found  three  hundred  a  number  more  convenient 
to  poetry  than  four  hundred  and  sixty. 

82  Spenser's  omission  of  the  picturesque  incidents  of  Thong  Castle, 
the  drinking  of  wassail,  and  Vortigern's  marriage  to  Rowena,  is  the 
more  remarkable  as  even  the  briefest  redactions  of  Geoffrey's  story 
are  apt  to  reproduce  these  incidents  at  some  length.  Spenser  must 
have  known  them.  His  statement  that  the  Saxons  "  got  large  por- 
tions of  land "  recalls  the  first  to  those  who  are  familiar  with  the 
story,  and  his  reference  to  the  '"  faire  daughters  face  and  flattring 
word  "  which  restored  Hengist  to  grace  suggests  the  last.  But  prac- 
tically all  those  parts  of  the  story  that  throw  the  Saxons  into  heroic 
prominence  are  omitted, —  probably  for  the  very  reason  that  they  do 
glorify  the  Saxons. 


142  SPENSER  S   BRITISH    CHRONICLE    HISTORY 

Ch.  1 6,  p.  113.  Aurelius  was  buried  within  the  Giant's 
Dance. 

Hoi,  Hist.,  p.  122.  Vortigerne  was  killed  by  Aurelius 
Ambrosius,  who  became  king.  Hengist  was  also  defeated 
and  killed.  Aurelius  Ambrose,  according  to  Geoffrey,  died 
by  poison,  but  according  to  Polydore  Vergil,  he  died  of  a 
wound  received  in  battle. 

This  stanza  is  a  very  brief,  but  entirely  accurate,  sum- 
mary of  Geoffrey's  story. 


68.  After  him  Uther,  which  Pendragon  hight, 
Succeeding  — 

G.  of  M.,  VIII,  17,  p.  114.  Uther  Pendragon,  the 
brother  of  Aurelius,  assumed  the  throne. 

There  is  nothing  to  fix  the  source  of  this  reference  to 
Uther.  It  may  have  been  taken  from  Geoffrey  or  from  any 
of  his  followers. 

B.  BOOK  III,  CANTO  3. 

26.  "  The  man,  whom  heavens  have  ordaynd  to  bee 
The  spouse  of  Britomart,  is  Arthegall : 

He  wonneth  in  the  land  of  Fayeree, 

Yet  is  no  Fary  borne,  ne  sib  at  all 

To  Elfes,  but  sprong  of  seed  terrestriall, 

And  whylome  by  false  Faries  stolne  away, 

Whiles  yet  in  infant  cradle  he  did  crall ; 

Ne  other  to  himselfe  is  knowne  this  day, 

But  that  he  by  an  Fife  was  gotten  of  a  Fay : 

27.  "  But  sooth  he  is  the  sonne  of  Gorlois, 
And  brother  unto  Cador,  Cornish  king ; 
And  for  his  warlike  feates  renowmed  is, 
From  where  the  day  out  of  the  sea  doth  spring, 


COMPARISON  143 

Untill  the  closure  of  the  Evening: 

From  thence  him,  firmely  bound  with  faithfull  band, 

To  this  his  native  soyle  thou  backe  shalt  bring, 

Strongly  to  ayde  his  countrey  to  withstand 

The  powre  of  forreine  Paynims  which  invade  thy  land. 

28.  "  Great  ayd  thereto  his  mighty  puissaunce 

And  dreaded  name  shall  give  in  that  sad  day; 

Where  also  proofe  of  thy  prow  valiaunce 

Thou  then  shalt  make,  t'  increase  thy  lover's  pray. 

Long  time  ye  both  in  armes  shall  beare  great  sway, 

Till  thy  wombes  burden  thee  from  them  do  call, 

And  his  last  fate  him  from  thee  take  away; 

Too  rathe  cut  off  by  practise  criminall 

Of  secrete  foes,  that  him  shall  make  in  mischief e  fall. 

G.  of  M.,  VIII,  19,  pp.  115  ff.  Gorlois,  duke  of  Corn- 
wall, had  for  wife  Igerna,  with  whom  Uther  Pendragon 
fell  in  love.  By  her  Uther  Pendragon  had  a  son,  Arthur. 
On  the  death  of  Gorlois  he  married  her. 

IX,  1-5,  pp.  121  ff.  Cador,  duke  of  Cornwall,  assisted 
Arthur  against  the  Saxons. 

IX,  12,  /.  36  f.,  p.  132. 

"  Arthgal  Cargueitensis,  quae  Warguit  appellatur." 

HoL,  Hist.,  p.  128.  Gorolus,  or  Gorloys,  was  duke  of 
Cornwall,  and  had  for  wife  Igwarne  or  Igerna. 

p.  133.  Cador,  duke  or  earl  of  Cornwall,  helped  Arthur 
in  his  wars  against  the  Saxons  and  the  Scots. 

Brut  Tysilio,  trans,  by  Roberts,  p.  172. 

"  For  Cador  was  the  son  of  Gorlais,  earl  of  Cornwall,  by 
Eigr,  Arthur's  mother,  the  daughter  of  Amlawdd  the  Great." 

Hardyng,  ch.  78,  p.  137. 

Both  Arthegall  and  Cador  are  mentioned  in  the  list  of  the 
knights  of  the  Round  Table. 


144  SPENSER  S   BRITISH    CHRONICLE    HISTORY 

"  Arthegall  therle  of  Warwyke  (full)  courageous, 

********** 

Cador,  the  duke  that  then  was  of  Cornewayle, 
The  kynges  brother  was  (on  the  syster)  syde, 
Dame  Igrene  was  their  mother  without  fayle  .  .  ." 

These  three  stanzas  make  the  transition  from  romance  to 
chronicle  material.  Arthegall,  who  is  to  be  the  husband  of 
Britomart,  is  the  son  of  Gorlois,  and  brother  to  Cador,  king 
of  Cornwall,  who  is,  by  inference,  another  of  the  sons  of 
Gorlois.  Arthegall,  therefore,  stands  in  the  same  relation  to 
Cador  that  Arthur  does  both  in  Hardyng  and  in  the  Brut 
Tysilio.  Arthegall,  like  Arthur,  fights  against  the  pagan 
and  is 

"  Too  rathe  cut  off  by  practise  criminall 
Of  secrete  foes." 

After  a  fashion,  then,  Arthegall  takes  Arthur's  place  in  the 
chronicle.  His  name  is  to  be  found  in  Geoffrey's  "  Arthgal 
Cargueitensis,  quae  Warguit  appellatur,"  and  in  Hardyng's 
"  Arthegall  therle  of  Warwyke,"  who  is  mentioned,  as  is 
Cador,  among  the  knights  of  the  Round  Table.  The  name 
likewise  appears  in  the  line  of  British  kings,  where  Arthgallo 
—  called  by  Spenser  Archigald  —  is  represented  as  brother 
to  Gorbonianus  and  a  tyrannous  ruler.83  The  name,  there- 
fore, Spenser  may  have  taken  from  Geoffrey  or  from  later 
writers,  but  apparently  either  Hardyng  or  the  Brut  Tysilio 
influenced  him  in  his  reference  to  Cador  as  a  son  of  Gor- 
lois.84 

The  prophecy  regarding  Britomart  in  the  twenty-eighth 
stanza  may  have  been  suggested  by  the  story  of  Esclara- 
monde  in  Huon  of  Bur  deux** 

83  G.  of  M.,  Ill,  17,  p.  41. 

8*  It  is  to  be  noted  that  Geoffrey  does  not  make  this  statement  even 
indirectly. 

85  Huon  of  Burdeux,  E.  E.  T.  S.,  p.  280.  When  Huon  is  planning 
to  go  to  the  tourney  at  Mayence,  where  he  knows  an  attempt  to 
kill  him  is  to  be  made,  Esclaramonde,  his  wife,  after  first  trying  to 
dissuade  him,  offers  to  go  with  him.  " '  I  wyll  be  armed  with  shelde 


COMPARISON  145 

29.  "  With  thee  yet  shall  he  leave,  for  memory 
Of  his  late  puissaunce,  his  ymage  dead, 

That  living  him  in  all  activity 

To  thee  shall  represent.     He,  from  the  head 

Of  his  coosen  Constantius,  without  dread 

Shall  take  the  crowne  that  was  his  fathers  right, 

And  therewith  crowne  himselfe  in  th'  others  stead : 

Then  shall  he  issew  forth  with  dread  full  might 

Against  his  Saxon  foes  in  bloody  field  to  fight. 

30.  "  Like  as  a  Lyon  that  in  drowsie  cave 
Hath  long  time  slept,  himselfe  so  shall  he  shake ; 
And  comming  forth  shall  spred  his  banner  brave 
Over  the  troubled  South,  that  it  shall  make 
The  warlike  Mertians  for  feare  to  quake : 

Thrise  shall  he  fight  with  them,  and  twise  shall  win ; 
But  the  third  time  shall  fayre  accordaunce  make : 
And,  if  he  then  with  victorie  can  lin, 
He  shall  his  dayes  with  peace  bring  to  his  earthly  In. 

G.  of  M.}  XI,  4-5,  p.  158.  Conanus  killed  Constantinus, 
his  uncle,  who  had  succeeded  Arthur,  and  reigned  in  his 
place.  He  also  cast  into  prison  another  uncle,  who  should 
have  succeeded  Constantinus,  and  killed  his  two  sons.  Con- 
stantinus was  the  son  of  Cador,  duke  of  Cornwall. 

HoL,  Hist.,  p.  I58.86  Constantine,  son  of  Cador,  suc- 
ceeded his  cousin  Arthur.  Modred's  sons  claimed  the  rule, 
but  were  overcome  in  battle.  They  sought  refuge,  one  in  a 
church  in  Winchester,  the  other  in  a  church  in  London,  but 
they  were  both  slain  by  Constantine.  Constantine  himself 

&  helme  &  swerde  by  my  syde,  &  yf  I  may  mete  duke  Raoul,  I  shall 
gyue  hym  suche  a  buffet  that  I  shall  stryke  hym  from  his  horse,  &  I 
am  so  dyspleased  with  hym  that  there  is  no  membre  in  me  but  that 
trembleth  for  angre.  I  shall  neuer  haue  joye  at  my  herte  tyll  I  be 
reuenged  of  hym.'  When  Huon  herde  the  duches  his  wyfe  he  was 
wel  comforted,  &  began  to  laugh,  &  sayde,  'fayre  ladye,  I  can  you 
grete  thanke  for  your  wordes,  but  ye  are  to  farre  gone  with  chyld  to 
ryde  armed;  it  is  a  seuen  monethes  past  syn  ye  were  fyrst  with 
chylde.' " 

88  Misprint  for  138. 


146          SPENSER'S  BRITISH  CHRONICLE  HISTORY 

was  slain  by  a  kinsman,  Aurelius  Conanus.  A  long  ex- 
tract from  Gildas  follows.  In  it  appear  the  words,  "  of 
whiche  heynous  and  wicked  offence,  Constantine  the  tyran- 
nicall  whelpe  of  the  Lyonesse  of  Deuonshire  is  not  igno- 
rant." 

p.  139.  Aurelius  Conanus  imprisoned  his  uncle,  who 
should  have  been  king,  and  killed  his  two  sons.  Gildas  is 
again  quoted.  "  And  thou  Lyons  whelpe,  as  sayeth  the 
prophet,  Aurelius  Conanus  what  doest  thou  ?  " 

Hardyng,  ch.  86,  p.  150. 

"  He,"  (Aurelius  Conan)  "  maynteyned  aye  ciuyle  war  re  and 

debate, 

Bytwene  cytees,  castelles,  and  countees, 
Through  al  (his)  realme,  w*  mysruled  men  associate, 
Whiche  was  greatly  agaynst  his  royaltees, 
And  but  thre  yere,  he  reygned  in  dignitees ; 
As  God  so  wolde,  of  his  hye  ordynaunce, 
For  wronge  lawes  maketh  shorte  gouernaunce." 

Spenser  does  not  say  in  so  many  words  that  on  the  death 
of  Arthegall  Constantine  assumed  the  crown,  but  such  was 
evidently  the  case,  as  Arthegall's  son  took  from  Constantine 
the  "  crown  that  was  his  fathers  right."  This  son,  as  the 
father  of  Vortipore,  is  to  be  identified  with  Geoffrey's 
Conanus.  Constantius  is  the  same  as  Constantine,  who  ac- 
cording to  Spenser's  story  would  be  cousin  to  Conan,  not 
uncle,  as  in  Geoffrey.87  Consequently,  Spenser's  narrative 
up  to  this  point  proves  on  close  examination  practically  to 
parallel  Geoffrey's.  From  Gildas,  or  more  probably  from 
the  quotation  from  Gildas  in  Holinshed,  Spenser  draws  the 
figure  of  speech  that  compares  Arthgallo's  son  to  a  lion. 
The  main  part  of  Spenser's  story,  however,  appears  to  be 

87  Gorlois 


Cador  Arthegall 

Constantius  Conan 


COMPARISON  147 

wholly  original,  detailed  though  it  is.88  No  authority  is 
known  for  Conan's  wars  with  the  Mertians.  On  the  con- 
trary, what  the  chroniclers  say  of  Conan  is  uncomplimen- 
tary. A  consciousness  of  this  appears  in  Spenser's  con- 
clusion to  the  prophecy,  which  leaves  the  prosperous  end  of 
Conan's  reign  in  doubt.  Spenser,  then,  differs  from  the 
known  authorities  in  a  part  of  his  account  of  Conan,  but  in 
part  reproduces  chronicle  material,  the  direct  source  for 
which  may  have  been  Geoffrey  and  Holinshed,  or  Holins- 
hed  alone. 


31.  "  His  sonne,  hight  Vortipore,  shall  him  succeede 

In  kingdome,  but  not  in  felicity : 

Yet  shall  he  long  time  warre  with  happy  speed, 

And  with  great  honour  many  batteills  try ; 

But  at  the  last  to  th'  importunity 

Of  froward  fortune  shall  be  forst  to  yield : 

G.  of  M.f  XI,  6,  p.  159.  Wortiporius  succeeded  Conanus. 
He  was  attacked  by  the  Saxons,  but  gained  a  victory  over 
them,  "  et  monarchiam  totius  regni  adeptus,  populum 
quatuor  annis  gubernavit  cum  diligentia  et  pace " 

(n.  3  ff-r 

Hoi.,  Hist.,  p.  140  and  H/.89  Vortiporus,  son  of  Conan, 
succeeded  his  father,  vanquished  the  Saxons,  and  ruled  four 
years.  He  left  no  issue  on  his  death.  A  comment  from 
Gildas  is  added.  Holinshed  does  not  believe  in  the  rela- 
tionship given  by  Geoffrey  of  Monmouth  and  "  Matthew  of 
Westminster."  He  thinks  that  Conan,  Vortiporus,  Con- 
stantius,  even  Cuneglasus  and  Maglocunus  lived  at  the  same 
time  and  governed  different  parts  of  the  same  kingdom. 

Stoiv,  />.  56.  Of  Vortiporus  Stow  says,  "  In  diuers  bat- 
tels, he  discomfited  the  Saxons." 

88  Spenser's  changes  may  have  been  due  to  the  fact  that  Merlin  is 
prophesying   to    Britomart    about    her    own    son    by    Arthegall.    This 
would  tend  to  make  Spenser  suppress  the  unpleasant  aspects  of  Conan's 
career. 

89  Misprint  for  141. 


148          SPENSER'S  BRITISH  CHRONICLE  HISTORY 

In  making  Vortipore  less  successful  than  Conan  and  in 
the  end  unfortunate  Spenser  differs  entirely  from  any 
known  authority.  He  agrees  with  Geoffrey  only  in  saying 
that  Vortipore,  son  of  Conan,  for  a  while  waged  successful 
war.  It  almost  seems  as  if  Spenser  had  deliberately  trans- 
ferred the  glory  of  Vortipore90  to  Conan  out  of  consider- 
ation for  the  listening  Britomart,  who  was  naturally  more 
concerned  in  her  son  than  in  her  grandson. 


31,  //.  7  ff.     "  But  his  sonne  Malgo  shall  full  mightily 
Avenge  his  fathers  losse  with  speare  and  shield, 

And  his  proud  foes  discomfit  in  victorious  field. 

32.  "  Behold  the  man !  and  tell  me,  Britomart, 
If  ay  more  goodly  creature  thou  didst  see? 
How  like  a  Gyaunt  in  each  manly  part 
Beares  he  himself e  with  portly  majestee, 
That  one  of  th'  old  Heroes  seemes  to  bee ! 

He  the  six  Islands,  comprovinciall 
In  auncient  times  unto  great  Britainee, 
Shall  to  the  same  reduce,  and  to  him  call 
Their  sondry  kings  to  do  their  homage  severall. 

G.  of  M.,  XI,  7,  p.  159. 

"  Cui  successit  Malgo  omnium  fere  Britanniae  pulcherri- 
mus  .  .  .  Hie  etiam  totam  insulam  obtinuit,  et  sex 
comprovinciales  Oceani  insulas,  Hyberniam  videlicet,  atque 
Islandiam,  Godlandiam,  Orcades,  Norwegian!,  Daciam,  adjecit 
dirissimis  praeliis  potestati  suae." 

HoL,  Hist.,  p.  I47-91  Malgo,  the  nephew  of  Aurelius 
Conanus,  was  handsome  and  strong.  He  defended  the 
country  against  the  Saxons  and  "  subdued  the  out  Isles,  as 
Orkeneye  and  others/'  Holinshed  adds  the  account  given 
by  Gildas,  and  continues  with  the  history  of  the  Saxon  king- 
doms. 

90  See  Geoffrey,  p.  147,  above. 

91  Misprint  for  141. 


COMPARISON 


149 


Laiamon,  ed.  Madden,  III,  p.  153,  w.  28828-9. 

"  He  biwun  fa  londes  alle : 
fa  stoden  him  an  honde." 

Brunne,  w.  14400—1. 

"  He  wan  f  e  ildes  ouer  al  aboute, 
&  of  kynges  he  tok  feaute." 

Flores  Historiarum,  I,  p.  278. 

"  Eodem  anno,  defuncto  rege  Britonum  Vortiporio,  suc- 
cessit  Malgo,  vir  pulcherrimus,  probitate  praeclarus,  armis 
robustus,  et  supram  modum  largus;  .  .  .  Hie  etiam 
sex  comprovinciales  occeani  insulas  potenter  subegit." 

Poly  chronic  on,  V,  p.  338.  No  mention  of  Malgo's  con- 
quests. 

"Robert  of  Gloucester,"  w.  4613-16. 

".     .     .     he  wan  ek  to  fis  londe 
pe  six  yles  fat  bef  aboute  &  heoldis  al  an  honde. 
As  godlond.     &  orcadas.     &  al   so  yrlonde. 
Norfweye  &  denemarch  &  al  so  god  yslonde." 

Hardyng,  ch.  86,  p.  151. 

"  Malgo  nexte  hym  to  the  crowne  attayned, 
Feyrest  of  other  that  euer  was  in  his  daye, 
All  tyranny  fully  he  restreyned, 
(And  conquered  holy  thryse)  92  of  Orkenay, 
Irelonde,  Denmarke,  Iselond,  and  eke  Norway;    . 
And  (Gotlande  also)93  obeyed  his  royalte, 
He  was  so  wyse  full  of  fortunyte. 

"  Within  his  realme  was  none  so  large  ne  strong, 
Ne  none  that  was  in  feacte  of  warre  so  wise, 
With  swerde  or  axe  to  fyght  in  the  thronge, 
Nor  with  his  speare  that  had  suche  exercyse, 

92  He  conquered  hole  the  lies. 

93  Scotlande  also. 


150          SPENSER'S  BRITISH  CHRONICLE  HISTORY 

For  to  assayle  hys  fooes,  and  them  suppryse; 
And  defence   (also)  he  had   (great  keenyng)  94 
As  any  prynce  euer  had  (or  any  kyng)."95 

Fabyan,  p.  84. 

".  .  .  he  by  his  manhod  subdued  the  iles  of  Ise- 
lande,  Orchades,  or  Orkeys,  &  Norway,  with  other." 

Graf  ton,  Part  VII,  p.  87.  Malgo,  "  as  Gaufride  sayth, 
he  subdued  six  Prouynces,  that  is  to  say,  Ireland,  the  Isles 
of  the  Orcades,  Gothland,  Iseland,  Norway,  and  Den- 
marke  ..." 

Stow,  p.  56.     No  mention  of  Malgo's  conquests. 

Spenser's  statement  that  Malgo  will  succeed  his  father 
and  to  avenge  him  will  fight  with  his  foes  and  overcome 
them  is  a  natural  sequence  to  the  account  of  Vortipore,  and 
like  that,  is  without  foundation  in  previous  chronicles. 
There  is  not  even  authority  for  making  Malgo  the  son  of 
Vortipore.  From  this  point  on,  however,  Spenser,  in  his 
account  of  Malgo,  follows  Geoffrey  closely.  Indeed,  the 
reference  to  Malgo's  conquest  of  the  "  six  Islands,  com- 
provinciall,"  is  one  of  the  strongest  indications  of  Spenser's 
use  of  the  original  Historia.  The  word  "  comprovinciall  " 
is  rare.96  It  is  not  used  by  the  English  chronicles  who  re- 
produce the  Historia  material,  and  so  far  as  I  have  found 
appears,  outside  of  Geoffrey's  Historia,  only  in  the  Flores 
Historiarum,  which  Spenser  does  not  seem  to  have  used. 
In  this  passage,  therefore,  Spenser  was  almost  certainly 
following  Geoffrey.  The  insistence  on  Malgo's  personal 
beauty  and  strength  may  have  been  suggested  by  Hardyng. 
We  may  conclude,  then,  that  the  first  part  of  Spenser's  ac- 

94  also  cunnyng. 

95  afore  euer  livynge. 

98  Murray's  Dictionary  gives  only  one  other  instance  of  the  word 
"  comprovincial "  in  this  sense.  "  1652,  Needham  tr.  Selden's  Mare 
Cl.  251.  King  Arthur  .  .  .  recover'd  six  Comprovincial  Isles  of 
the  Sea  (which  are  the  very  words  of  Geofferie  of  Monmouth)." 


COMPARISON 


count  of  Malgo  is  independent  of  the  chronicles,  and  that 
the  last  part  follows  Geoffrey,  and  perhaps  Hardyng. 


33.  "  All  which  his  sonne  Careticus  awhile 
Shall  well  defend,  and  Saxons  powre  suppresse; 
Untill  a  straunger  king,  from  unknowne  soyle 
Arriving,  him  with  multitude  oppresse; 

G.  of  M.,  XI,  8,  pp.  159-160.  "  Malgoni  successit 
Careticus,  amator  civilium  bellorum,  invisus  Deo  et  Briton- 
ibus.  Cujus  inconstantiam  comperientes  Saxones,  iverunt 
ad  Gormundum  regem  Africanorum  in  Hyberniam,  in  quam 
maximis  navigiis  advectus,  gentem  patriae  subjugaverat " 
(//.  i  if.).  Gormundus  came  to  Britain  "quam  in  una 
parte  mentitae  fidei  Saxones,  in  alia  vero  cives  patriae, 
civilia  bella  inter  se  assidue  agentes,  penitus  devastabant " 
(//.  6  ff.).  Gormundus  made  war  on  Careticus  and  after 
many  battles  drove  him  to  Cirencester,  and  then  to  Wales. 

Hoi.,  Hist.,  p.  143.  Careticus  (or  Caretius)  was  forced 
into  Wales  by  the  Saxons,  who  "  seassed  not  to  pursue  the 
Britons  by  force  and  continuall  warre,  till  they  had  con- 
strained them  for  refuge  to  withdraw  into  Wales.  And  as 
some  have  written,  the  Saxons  meanyng  to  make  a  full  con- 
quest of  the  lande,  sent  ouer  into  Ireland,  requiring  one 
Gurmundus  a  kyng  of  the  Affricanes  to  come  ouer  into 
Britayne  to  healpe  them  agaynste  the  Brytaynes." 

The  first  two  lines  of  this  stanza  contain  two  statements 
for  which  Spenser  apparently  had  no  authority.  Careticus 
was  not  the  son  of  Malgo,  and  he  did  not  conquer  the  Sax- 
ons. The  account  of  the  coming  of  the  "  straunger  king," 
however,  agrees  with  Geoffrey's.  At  the  same  time,  the 
fact  that  this  king  comes,  not  from  Africa,  but  from  "  un- 
knowne soyle,"  shows  the  influence  of  the  doubt  expressed 
at  length  by  Holinshed,  and  more  briefly  by  Camden.07 

97  See  p.  153,  below. 


152          SPENSER'S  BRITISH  CHRONICLE  HISTORY 

Spenser's  story  is  therefore  in  part  independent  and  in  part 
influenced  by  Holinshed,  or  perhaps  Camden. 


33>  #•  5  ff-     "  Great  Gormond,  having  with  huge  mighti- 

nesse 

Ireland  subdewd,  and  therein  fixt  his  throne, 
Like  a  swift  Otter,  fell  through  emptinesse, 
Shall  overswim  the  sea,  with  many  one 
Of  his  Norveyses,  to  assist  the  Britons  fone. 

34.  "  He  in  his  furie  all  shall  overronne, 

And  holy  Church  with  faithlesse  handes  deface, 

That  thy  sad  people,  utterly  fordonne, 

Shall  to  the  utmost  mountaines  fly  apace. 

Was  never  so  great  waste  in  any  place, 

Nor  so  fowle  outrage  doen  by  living  men ; 

For  all  thy  Citties  they  shall  sacke  and  race, 

And  the  greene  grasse  that  groweth  they  shall  bren, 

That  even  the  wilde  beast  shall  dy  in  starved  den. 

G.  of  M.,  XI,  8,  pp.  159-160.  Gormundus,  king  of  the 
Africans,  arrived  in  Ireland  with  a  great  fleet  and  subdued 
the  country.  Summoned  by  the  Saxons  in  England,  he 
aided  them  against  Careticus,  who  was  driven  into  Wales. 
"  Mox  depopulans  agros,  ignem  cumulavit  in  finitimas 
quasque  civitates:  qui  non  quievit  accensus,  donee  cunctam 
pene  super/idem  insulae  a  man  usque  ad  mare  exussit;  ita 
ut  cunctae  coloniae  crebris  arietibus,  omnesque  coloni  cum 
sacerdotibus  ecclesiae,  mucronibus  undique  micantibus,  ac 
flammis  crepitantibus,  simul  humi  strenerentur "  (//.  17 
ff.). 

Hoi.,  Hist.,  pp.  144  ff.  The  story  follows  Geoffrey,  but 
does  not  dwell  on  the  devastation  of  the  country.  "  After 
this,  the  foresayd  Gurmonde  destroyed  thys  lande  through- 
out in  pitifull  wyse,  and  then  deliuered  it  in  possession  to 
the  Saxons,  the  whiche  thankfully  receiued  it." 


COMPARISON  153 

Hist,  of  Ireland,  p.  14. 
"  Gurmundus,  a  notable  rouer  of  the  Norwegians     .     .     ." 

p.  1 6. 

".  .  .  no  doubte  the  same  Gurmonde  was  some 
Kyng  of  the  Danes,  or  Norweygians,  and  not  of  the  Affricanes 
(as  some  of  our  coutreymen  name  hym).  Which  errour  is 
soone  committed,  in  takyng  one  Heathenishe  nation  for  an 
other,  as  those  haue  doone  that  haue  named  the  Hungarians 
(when  they  inuaded  Gallia  before  they  were  Christians) 
Sarazins.  And  so  lykewyse  might  that  authour  (who  so 
euer  he  was)  whom  Geffrey  of  Monmouth  foloweth,  fynding 
Gurmonde  written  to  be  a  king  of  the  myscreantes,  mistake 
the  Norwegians  for  Affricanes,  bicause  both  those  nations 
were  Infidels :  and  therefore  sith  haply  the  Affricanes  in  the 
dayes  when  that  Author  liued,  bare  all  the  brute  aboue  other 
Heathenishe  .nations  then,  as  the  Turkes  do  nowe,  he  named 
them  Africanes." 

Camd.,  Brit.,  p.  281.  "  .  .  .a  Gurmundo,  nescio 
quo  tyranno  Africano.  .  .  .  Quis  fuit  hie  Gurmundus 
plane  ignoro."  Camden  tries  to  identify  him  with  one 
Guthrus  or  Gurmundus,  a  Dane,  about  the  year  879. 

In  speaking  of  Gormond's  "  Norveyses  "  Spenser  shows 
even  more  clearly  than  in  stanza  thirty-three  that  he  rejects 
Geoffrey's  statement  that  Gurmond  was  king  of  the 
Africans.  He  seems  in  this  to  have  been  influenced  chiefly 
by  the  History  of  Ireland  in  Holinshed's  Chronicles,  where 
Gurmond  is  called  "  Kyng  of  the  Danes,  or  Norweygians." 
The  rest  of  the  story  follows  Geoffrey  closely,  particularly 
in  the  account  of  the  devastation  of  Britain,  the  details  of 
which,  so  far  as  we  know,  Spenser  could  have  found  only 
in  the  Historia.  Spenser's  source,  then,  seems  to  have  been 
both  Geoffrey  and  Holinshed. 


35.  "  Whiles  thus  thy  Britons  doe  in  languour  pine, 
Proud  Etheldred  shall  from  the  North  arise, 
Serving  th'  ambitious  will  of  Augustine, 


154  SPENSER S   BRITISH    CHRONICLE    HISTORY 

And,  passing  Dee,  with  hardy  enterprise, 

Shall  backe  repulse  the  valiaunt  Brockwell  twise, 

And  Bangor  with  massacred  Martyrs  fill, 

But  the  third  time  shall  rew  his  foolhardise : 

For  Cadwan,  pittying  his  peoples  ill, 

Shall  stoutly  him  defeat,  and  thousand  Saxons  kill. 

G.  of  M.,  XI t  12-13,  pp.  161-162.  Ethelfridus,  king  of 
the  Northumbrians,  was  induced  by  Ethelbertus,  king  of 
Kent,  to  attack  the  Britons  because  of  their  refusal  to  ac- 
cept the  authority  of  Augustine,  who  had  come  to  preach  to 
the  Angles.  Ethelfridus  defeated  Brocmail  near  Legeces- 
tria,  captured  the  city,  and  put  to  death  200  monks  from 
Bangor.  He  then  marched  towards  Bangor,  but  was  put 
to  flight  by  the  Britons  and  lost  ten  thousand  and  sixty-six 
men.  Among  the  leaders  of  the  Britons  which  are  men- 
tioned is  Caduanus,  but  their  commander  was  Blederic,  duke 
of  Cornwall. 

Hoi,  Hist.,  pp.  153  if.  Edelferd,  Edelfride,  or  Ethel- 
ferd,  king  of  the  Northumbrians,  defeated  Edan,  king  of 
the  Scots.  Later  he  attacked  the  Britons  under  Brocmale 
(or  Broemael)  near  Chester,  and  killed  about  1200  monks 
from  Bangor.  Brocmale  fled  in  cowardly  fashion.  This 
was  after  the  death  of  Augustine,  and  the  quarrel  was  not 
because  of  him.  "  Of  which  battaile  also  William  Harison 
telleth  another  maner  of  tale,  whose  wordes  though  he  Hue 
in  our  time  and  his  Chronologic  bee  not  yet  extant  are  not 
to  be  omitted 98  .  .  .  Athelbright,  or  Edilfride,  king 
of  the  Northuwbers,  and  Ethelbert  of  Kent,  hauing  Augus- 
tine in  their  copanie,  in  the  .8.  yeare  after  his  arriuall, 
doe  make  warre  .  .  .  and  kill  1200.  Monkes  of  the 
Monasterie  of  Bangor  .  .  ."  From  Chester  Edel- 
ferd marched  towards  Bangor.  The  Britons  were  assem- 

98  For  this  sentence  was  substituted  in  the  second  edition  the  fol- 
lowing :  — "  A  late  chronographer  running  vpon  this  matter,  and  pre- 
ciselie  setting  downe  his  collection,  saith  that  .  .  ."A  marginal 
note  reads,  "  W.  H'arison "  (I.  Hist,  of  Eng.,  p.  104). 


COMPARISON  155 

bled  under  three  captains,  of  whom  Cadwane,  king  of 
Northwales,  was  one.  They  defeated  Edelferd.  Bede, 
however,  makes  no  mention  of  this  battle. 

p.  156.  According  to  Holinshed  Britain  was  without 
any  special  governor  twenty- four  years,  but  he  quotes 
Harison  as  saying  that  Cadwan  succeeded  Careticus  im- 
mediately on  the  death  of  the  latter. 

Descr.  of  Br.}  p.  64. 

"  Their  abbaye  of  Bangor  stoode  sometime  in  Englishe 
Maylor,  by  hyther  and  south  of  the  riuer  Dee.  It  is  nowe 
ploughed  ground  where  that  house  stoode,  by  the  space  of 
a  Welch  myle  (which  reacheth  vnto  a  mile  and  an  halfe 
Englishe)  and  to  thys  daye  the  tillers  of  the  soyle  there,  doe 
plowe  vp  bones  as  they  saye  of  those  monks  that  were  slaine 
in  the  quarell  of  Augustine  .  .  ." 

Brut  Tysilio,  trans,  by  Roberts,  p.  178  /.  The  name  of 
the  British  chieftain  is  given  as  Brochwel,  and  the  monks 
are  said  to  have  been  killed  at  Bangor. 

Hardy ng,  ch.  90,  p.  160. 

"  This  kyng  Cadwan  at  Wynchester  crownd, 
Was  made  ye  kyng  of  Britayne  &  Britons, 
Agayn  whom  kyng  Ethelfrede  ye  stound, 
Warred  full  sore  all  the  regions 
Where  Brytons  were,  so  did  he  all  religions ; 
Who  Westchester  sieged  with  violence, 
Wher  Brochewall  therle  made  greate  defence. 

"  But  there  he  slewe  Brochewall  in  batayll, 
And  gatte  the  towne  of  Westchester  (in)  that  tyde, 
Where  XII.  C.  monkes,  without  fayle, 
He  slew  downe  right,  a  lytle  there  besyde, 
That  came  to  praye  for  peace  without  pride, 
Fro  Banger  there  in  hole  procession, 
That  marters  wer  there  by  his  oppression." 

Afterwards  Cadwan  met  Ethelfrede  and  made  peace  with 
him. 


156          SPENSER'S  BRITISH  CHRONICLE  HISTORY 

tf-i 

Descr.  of  Cambria,  by  Sir  John  Price,  augmented  by 
Humphry  Lloyd,  p.  XIV  f.  There  is  a  reference  to 

"  Brochwel  called  Brecyfal  (as  the  English  chronicle  saith) 
for  this  Brochwel  called  Yfgithroc,  that  is,  long  toothed,  was 
chosen  leader  of  such  as  met  with  Adelred  alias  Ethelbertus 
rex  Cantiae,  and  other  Angles  and  Saxons,  whom  Augustine 
had  moved  to  make  war  against  the  Christian  Britains,  and 
these  put  Brochwel  twice  to  flight,  not  far  from  Chester, 
and  cruelly  slew  1000  priests  and  monks  of  Bangor,  with 
a  great  number  of  lay-brethren  of  the  same  house  .  .  . 

'  Then  this  Brochwell  retired  over  Dee,  hard  by  Bangor, 
and  defended  the  Saxons  the  passage,  till  Cadfan  King  of 
North  Wales  .  .  .  came  to  succour  him,  and  gave  the 
Saxons  a  sore  battle." 

The  Breviary  of  Britayne,  Written  by  Humfrey  Lhuyd,™ 
Englished  by  Thomas  Twyne,  1573,  Fol.  71. 

"  He  "  (Augustine  the  Monk)  "  so  stirred  the  hate  of  the 
Englishmen  against  them"  (the  2100  monks  of  "Banchor") 
"that  shortly  after  ...  by  Ethelfred  ...  the 
Monks  which  desired  peace  were  most  cruelly  slaine.  And 
afterward  the  Britaynes,  under  the  conduct  of  Brochwell 
kynge  of  Powys,  were  vanquished.  Until  that  at  length,  be- 
ing ayded  with  power  from  Belthrusius,  Duke  of  Cornwall, 
Cadwane,  kyng  of  Northwales,  Meredoc,  kyng  of  Southwales, 
and  hartned  forward  by  the  oration  of  their  most  learned 
Abbot  Ounetus,  who  commanded  .  .  .  that  everyone 
should  kisse  the  ground,  in  remembrance  of  the  Communion 
of  the  Body  of  our  Lord,  and  should  take  up  water  in  their 
hands  forth  of  the  River  Dee  and  drink  it,  in  commemora- 
tion of  the  most  sacred  Blood  of  Christ  .  .  .  who,  hav- 
ing so  communicated  they  overcame  the  Saxons  in  a  famous 
battle  and  slew  of  them,  as  Huntingdon  writeth,  1066  and  cre- 
ated Caruanus  their  kynge  in  the  citie  of  Legions." 

Graf  ton's  Abridgment,  ed.  1572,  p.  19,  548  A.  D. 

"  In  thys  time  .  .  .  one  Ethel  f  ride,  (who  was  the 
VIII  king  of  the  Saxons  that  then  reigned  in  this  land,  for 
.  .  .  there  reigned  at  one  time  in  this  land  XXIII  kyngs 
.  .  .  )  had  a  great  battle  beside  Chester:  and  at  that 

09  Lloyd,  Lhuyd  and  Llwyd  are  different  spellings  of  the  same  name. 


COMPARISON  157 

time  there  were  together  in  an  abbey  called  Bangor  2200 
monks,  praying  unto  God  to  aid  the  Britons  against  the  Sax- 
ons, which  Monkes  (after  Ethel f ride  had  obtained  the  victory 
of  the  Battail)  hee  slewe,  savyng  50  that  hardly  escaped." 
Polichronicon. 

p.  20,  589,  A.  D. 

"  In  Briteyne  Ethelfridus  (or  as  some  write  Etheldredus) 
governed  the  North  Saxons,  who  made  such  continual  war 
upon  the  Britons  that  it  is  thought  he  slew  more  of  them  than 
all  the  other  Saxon  kings." 

Graf  ton,  Chronicle,  p.  86.  A  leader  of  the  Bangor 
monks  at  Chester  was  Bruciuall. 

Stow,  p.  56.  "  Cadwane,  Duke  of  Northwales,  was  made 
Soueraigne  of  the  Brytaines,  who  gaue  strong  battel  to  Ethel- 
fride,  king  of  Northumberland,  and  forced  him  to  intreat  for 
peace:  After  which  concord  being  made,  they  continued  all 
their  lifetime  louing  friends.  Hee  raigned  22  yeeres." 

In  this  stanza  Spenser's  story  differs  from  Geoffrey's  in 
several  particulars.  Spenser  writes,  not  of  Ethelfridus,  but 
of  Ethldred,  and  so  uses  a  form  of  the  name  which  Graf- 
ton  says  "  some  write."  1  Instead  of  Brocmail  Spenser 
writes  Brockwell,  a  form  that  may  have  come  from  the 
Brocwel  of  the  Brut  Tysilio,  the  Brochewall  of  Hardyng, 
or  the  Brochwell  (also  Brochewel  and  Brochwel)  of  Llwyd 
in  both  the  Description  of  Cambria  and  the  Breviary  of 
Britayne.2  Spenser  says  that  the  massacre  of  the  monks 
shall  take  place  at  Bangor,  not  at  Legecestria,  and  so  agrees 
with  the  local  tradition  mentioned  in  Holinshed's  Descrip- 
tion of  Britain,  with  what  Grafton  seems  to  say  in  the 
Abridgment,3  and  with  what  the  Brut  Tysilio  actually  does 

1  In  spite  of  the  discrepancy  in  the  dates  which  Grafton  gives, 
this  Ethelfridus  (or  Etheldredus)  seems  to  be  the  same  king  of 
Northumberland  who  warred  against  Brockwell. 

-  Cf.  also  Brochiual  in  L?£amon's  Brut  CUT,  p.  196,  1.  29,830), 
Brochiuail  in  Robert  Manning  of  Brunne  (I,  1.  15,  364),  and  Bruciuall 
in  Grafton's  Chronicle  (p.  86). 

3  The  form  of  Grafton's  story  suggests  that  he  was  following  the 
usual  version,  and  introduced  the  variation  through  carelessness  of 
expression  or  inaccurate  condensation. 


158          SPENSER'S  BRITISH  CHRONICLE  HISTORY 

say.  Spenser  writes  that  Etheldred  shall  twice  defeat 
Brockwell,  but  in  the  third  encounter  shall  be  defeated  by 
Cadwan,  a  statement  which  is  to  be  found  in  the  Descrip- 
tion of  Cambria.  In  this  last  battle  Cadwan  shall  "  thou- 
sand Saxons  kill."  So,  in  the  Breviary  of  Britayne,  on  the 
authority  of  Huntingdon,  the  number  is  given  as  1066. 
Finally  Spenser  speaks  of  Cadwan  as  the  leader  and  ruler 
of  the  Britons,  not  merely  as  one  among  several  leaders. 
In  this  he  may  have  followed  Hardyng  or  Stow.  There  is 
authority,  then,  for  each  of  Spenser's  variations  from 
Geoffrey,  but  no  one  author,  as  may  be  seen  at  a  glance, 
gives  more  than  two.  Unless  some  other  possible  source 
be  found,  we  must  assume  that  Spenser  used  at  least  Graf- 
ton's  Abridgment,  the  Description  of  Cambria,  the  Breviary 
of  Britayne,  and  Hardyng's  Chronicle  or  Stow's  Annales. 
Furthermore,  for  the  massacre  at  Bangor,  the  most  satis- 
factory source  would  be  the  Brut  Tysilio,  because  of  the 
directness  of  the  statement  made  there.  It  is  possible  that 
Spenser  had  access  to  Welsh  sources  of  information,4  and 
so  knew  the  Brut  Tysilio,  or  some  similar  chronicle.  Cer- 
tainly in  this  stanza  he  modifies  Geoffrey's  story  to  agree 
with  Welsh  versions  of  it. 


36.  "  But  after  him,  Cadwallin  mightily 

On  his  sonne  Edwin  all  those  wrongs  shall  wreake ; 

Ne  shall  availe  the  wicked  sorcery 

Of  false  Pellite  his  purposes  to  breake, 

But  him  shall  slay,  and  on  a  gallowes  bleak 

Shall  give  th'  enchaunter  his  unhappy  hire. 

Then  shall  the  Britons,  late  dismayd  and  weake, 

From  their  long  vassalage  gin  to  respire, 

And  on  their  Paynim  foes  avenge  their  ranckled  ire. 

37.  "  Ne  shall  he  yet  his  wrath  so  mitigate, 
Till  both  the  sonnes  of  Edwin  he  have  slayne, 
Offricke  and  Osricke,  twinnes  unfortunate, 

4Cf.  the  Welsh  words,  F.  Q.,  II,  10,  24. 


COMPARISON  159 

Both  slaine  in  battaile  upon  Layburne  playne, 

Together  with  the  king  of  Louthiane, 

Hight  Adin,  and  the  king  of  Orkeny, 

Both  joynt  partakers  of  their  fatall  payne : 

But  Penda,  fearefull  of  like  desteny, 

Shall  yield  him  selfe  his  liegeman,  and  sweare  fealty. 

38.  "  Him  shall  he  make  his  fatall  Instrument 
T'  afflict  the  other  Saxons  unsubdewd ; 

He  marching  forth  with  fury  insolent 
Against  the  good  king  Oswald,  who  indewd 
With  heavenly  powre,  and  by  Angels  reskewd, 
Al  holding  crosses  in  their  hands  on  hye, 
Shall  him  def eate  withouten  blood  imbrewd : 
Of  which  that  field,  for  endlesse  memory, 
Shall  Hevenfield  be  cald  to  all  posterity. 

39.  "  Whereat  Cadwallin  wroth  shall  forth  issew, 
And  an  huge  hoste  into  Northumber  lead, 

With  which  he  godly  Oswald  shall  subdew, 
And  crowne  with  martiredome  his  sacred  head : 
Whose  brother  Oswin,  daunted  with  like  dread, 
With  price  of  silver  shall  his  kingdome  buy; 
And  Penda,  seeking  him  adowne  to  tread, 
Shall  tread  adowne,  and  doe  him  f owly  dye ; 
But  shall  with  guifts  his  lord  Cadwallin  pacify. 

G.  of  M.,  XII,  1-13,  pp.  163  ff.  Caduallo,  son  of 
Caduanus,  and  Edwinus,  son  of  Ethel fridus,  shared  the 
kingdom  between  them,  as  their  fathers  had  done.  Cad- 
uallo alone  wore  a  crown.  He  refused  his  permission  when 
Edwinus  wished  to  be  crowned  also.  In  the  war  that  fol- 
lowed Caduallo  was  defeated  and  forced  to  flee  from  Brit- 
ain. His  return  was  prevented  by  the  arts  of  the  magician 
Pellitus.  But  Pellitus  was  killed  by  Brianus,  who  in  dis- 
guise approached  him  in  York  and  thrust  him  through 
with  an  iron-tipped  spear.  Caduallo  then  returned.  He 


160          SPENSER'S  BRITISH  CHRONICLE  HISTORY 

overcame  Peanda,  king  of  the  Mercians,  who  was  in  com- 
mand of  the  Saxon  force.  Peanda  became  his  ally,  and 
they  marched  against  Edwinus.  Edwinus  was  killed  in 
battle  at  Hevenfeld,  together  with  Offridus  his  son,  and 
Godboldus,  king  of  the  Orkneys  (Orcadun).  Caduallo 
then  attempted  to  extirpate  the  Saxon  race.  Among  those 
whom  he  killed  were  Osricus,  Edwin's  successor,  and  his 
two  nephews,  who  should  have  reigned  after  him,  and 
Adanus,  king  of  the  Scots.  Oswaldus  then  became  king  of 
Northumbria.  At  Hevenfeld  Oswaldus  set  up  a  cross  and 
commanded  his  men  to  pray.  By  their  faith  they  gained  a 
victory  over  Peanda,  but  afterward  Caduallo  led  an  army 
to  the  north  and  Oswaldus  was  defeated  at  Burne  and 
killed.  Oswius,  his  brother,  made  large  presents  of  gold 
and  silver  to  Caduallo,  and  was  allowed  to  succeed  Oswal- 
dus. Peanda  was  permitted  to  attack  him,  but  was  him- 
self killed.  Peace  was  made  by  command  of  Caduallo. 

Hol.y  Hist.,  pp.  163  ff.  While  the  kingdom  of  Nor- 
thumberland flourished  under  Edwin,  "  Cadwalline,  or 
Cadwallo  King  of  Brytaynes,  who  succeeded  Cadwane,"  5 
rebelled  against  him.  Penda,  king  of  Mercia,  instigated 
the  rebellion  and  assisted  in  it.  In  a  battle  at  Hatfield  Ed- 
win and  one  of  his  sons,  Osfrid,  were  slain,  and  their  army 
was  defeated.  Another  son,  Edfride,  surrendered  to 
Penda  and  was  put  to  death.  Cadwallo  and  Penda  used 
their  power  cruelly.  After  a  while  Oswalde  became  king 
of  the  Northumbrians,  He  fought  with  Cadwallo  at 
"  Heuenfield,"  where  before  the  battle  he  ordered  a  cross 
erected.  He  put  the  enemy  to  flight  and  followed  them  to 
Denisseborne,  where  Cadwallo  was  slain.  But  according  to 
Geoffrey,  the  next  paragraph  continues,  Cadwallo  was  not 
slain  at  all. 

pp.  165  ff.  Cadwallo  or  Cadwalline's  reign  is  described 
practically  as  in  Geoffrey  of  Monmouth.6  In  the  battle  of 

6  This  is  not  the  beginning  of  a  separate  section. 
8  Here,  as  usually  at  the  beginning  of  a  reign,  there  is  a  portrait, 
a  heading,  and  heavy  type  in  the  margin. 


COMPARISON  l6l 

Hatfield  Edwin,  Osfride,  and  Godbolde,  the  king  of  the 
Isles  of  Orkney,  were  slain.  Penda  was  overthrown  at 
Heauenfielde  by  Oswald,  but  the  story  of  the  cross  is  not 
given.  Cadwallo  himselfe  pursued  Oswald  and  killed  him 
at  Bourne.  Osunus  succeeded  Oswald.  Penda,  by  per- 
mission, warred  against  him,  although  Osunus,  "  by  great 
gyftes  of  golde  and  siluer "  had  obtained  peace.  Penda 
was  slain.  The  account  concludes  as  follows:  "  .  .  . 
but  diuers  men  thinke  that  much  of  that  Hystorie  is  but 
fables,  bycause  of  the  dissonance  found  therein  so  mani- 
festly varying  both  from  Beda  and  other  autentike  wryters 
(as  before  I  haue  sayde.)  "  7 

p.  170.  Oswy  succeeded  his  brother  Oswalde  as  king  of 
Northumberland. 

LaZamon,  ed.  Madden,  III,  p.  255,  //.  31,244-6. 

"per  wes  Edwine  of-slagen 
And  his  sunen  tweien. 
per  feollen  seouen  kinges." 

Osric,  the  youngest  son,  is  mentioned  later. 

Stow,  p.  56.  "  Cadwallin,  the  sonne  of  Cadwane."  Mir. 
for  Mag.,  I,  p.  420.  Cadwalline.  Graf  ton,  p.  95,  Cad- 
wallyn. 

These  four  stanzas  follow  the  general  outline  of  Geof- 
frey's narrative.  The  only  variations  which  show  the  in- 
fluence of  later  chroniclers  are  the  forms  of  the  names  Cad- 
wallin and  Penda.  For  the  other  variations  no  authority  is 
known.  Pellite  receives  "  his  unhappy  hire  "  on  "a  gal- 
lowes  bleak  "  apparently  because  of  Spenser's  predilection 
for  hanging.8  To  the  list  of  those  slain  in  the  battle 
between  Edwin  and  Cadwallin  are  added  the  names  of  those 
killed  afterward  —  a  change,  it  may  be,  for  brevity.  The 
description  of  the  battle  of  Heavenfield,  in  which  Oswald 
was  victorious,  introduces  bands  of  angels  with  crosses  in 


8  See 


.  167. 

note,  p.  84,  above. 


1 62          SPENSER'S  BRITISH  CHRONICLE  HISTORY 

their  hands  —  creations,  perhaps,  of  the  poet's  fancy,  based 
on  the  story  of  the  cross  that  Oswald  erected  on  the  battle- 
field. Two  points,  however,  suggest  that  Spenser  may  have 
had  authority  for  at  least  some  of  his  changes.  The  first 
point  is  the  name  Laybourne  Plain,  which  Spenser  gives  to 
Geoffrey's  first  battle  at  Hevenfeld,  called  by  the  later  chron- 
iclers Hatfield.  Even  if  we  assume  that  Spenser  by  mis- 
take used  the  name  of  the  battle  in  which  Oswald  was  killed 
—  a  supposition  which  gains  some  probability  from  Spen- 
ser's omission  of  the  name  later  —  we  must  still  account  for 
the  change  from  Burne  to  Laybourne  Plain,  and  admit  that 
it  is  such  a  change  as  we  have  not  found  before  except  when 
Spenser  has  been  following  some  definite  source.  The  sec- 
ond point  is  this :  although  we  may  explain  the  combina- 
tion of  two  lists  of  the  slain  as  the  result  of  condensation,  a 
similar  combination  had  already  been  made  by  Layamon, 
whose  mention  of  Edwin's  "  sunen  tweien"  among  the 
slain  is  specially  noteworthy  as  a  parallel  to  Spenser's 
"  twinnes  unfortunate."  If  there  existed  a  source  that  pre- 
served the  LaSamon  form  of  the  story,  it  might  account  for 
the  change  of  the  name  Offridus  to  Offricke, —  a  change 
which  was  clearly  made  for  the  sake  of  agreement  with 
Osricke  —  and  for  other  changes.  We  must  conclude,  then, 
that  while  the  general  outline  of  Spenser's  story  is  suffi- 
ciently close  to  Geoffrey's  to  warrant  a  belief  that  Spenser 
was  following  Geoffrey,  Spenser  varied  the  narrative,  in 
part,  perhaps,  through  the  necessity  of  condensation,  but 
also  in  part  through  the  probable  influence  of  some  source 
now  unknown,  and  certainly,  in  the  forms  Cadwallin  and 
Penda,  through  the  influence  of  Holinshed  or  some  other 
of  the  later  chroniclers. 


40.  "  Then  shall  Cadwallin  die ;  and  then  the  raine 
Of  Britons  eke  with  him  attonce  shall  dye ; 
Ne  shall  the  good  Cadwallader,  with  paine 
Or  powre,  be  hable  it  to  remedy, 


COMPARISON  163 

When  the  full  time,  prefixt  by  destiny, 

Shal  be  expird  of  Britons  regiment : 

For  heven  it  selfe  shall  their  successe  envy, 

And  them  with  plagues  and  murrins  pestilent 

Consume,  till  all  their  warlike  puissaunce  be  spent. 

41.  "  Yet  after  all  these  sorrowes,  and  huge  hills 

Of  dying  people,  during  eight  yeares  space, 

Cadwallader,  not  yielding  to  his  ills, 

From  Armoricke,  where  long  in  wretched  cace 

He  liv'd,  retourning  to  his  native  place, 

Shal  be  by  vision  staide  from  his  intent : 

For  th'  heavens  have  decreed  to  displace 

The  Britons  for  their  sinnes  dew  punishment, 

And  to  the  Saxons  over-give  their  government." 

G.  of  M.,  XII,  14-18,  pp.  173  ff.  Caduallo  was  suc- 
ceeded by  his  son  Cadwalladrus,  who  ruled  in  peace  for 
twelve  years.  He  then  fell  sick,  and  civil  war  broke  out. 
At  the  same  time  came  famine,  followed  by  pestilence,  which 
broke  down  the  power  of  the  Britons  so  that  they  were 
forced  to  flee  beyond  the  seas.  Cadwalladrus  broke  into 
lamentation  on  his  departure,  and  ascribed  the  woes  of  the 
Britons  to  the  anger  of  God,  whom  they  had  provoked  by 
their  impieties.  Cadwalladrus  took  refuge  in  Armorica, 
and  the  Saxons  had  supreme  rule  over  all  Britain.  "  Ab 
illo  tempore  Britonum  potestas  in  insula  cessavit :  et  Angli 
regnare  coeperunt "  (ch.  16,  //.  17—18,  p.  174).  In  course 
of  time  Cadwalladrus  wished  to  recover  his  kingdom,  but 
the  loud  voice  of  an  angel  commanded  him  to  give  up  his 
enterprise,  because  God  was  not  willing  that  the  Britons 
should  reign  any  longer  in  Britain.  He  was  also  com- 
manded to  make  a  pilgrimage  to  Rome.  He  did  so,  and  in 
Rome  he  died. 

Hoi.,  Hist.,  p.  183.  After  a  number  of  pages  on  Saxon 
affairs,  Holinshed  gives  a  brief  account  of  Cadwallader  ac- 
cording to  Geoffrey,  but  he  considers  the  story  a  mistake 


164          SPENSER'S  BRITISH  CHRONICLE  HISTORY 

due  to  a  confusion  with  Ceadwalla,  king  of  the  West  Sax- 
ons, who  did  go  to  Rome  and  died  there. 

Nennius,  section  45,,  Six  Old  English  Chronicles,  p.  405. 
"  And  let  him  that  reads  understand  that  the  Saxons  were 
victorious,  and  ruled  Britain,  not  from  their  superior  prowess, 
but  on  account  of  the  great  sins  of  the  Britons :  God  so  per- 
mitting it." 

It  is  difficult  to  determine  what  Spenser  meant  by  say- 
ing that  with  Cadwallin  "  the  raine  of  Britons  "  died.  Ap- 
parently, either  by  accident  or  intention,  the  twelve  years  of 
peace  with  which  Cadwallader's  reign  opened  are  over- 
looked, and  so  the  power  of  the  Britons  is  said  to  have 
ended  with  Cadwallader's  predecessor,  although  he  was  not 
the  last  of  the  British  kings.  In  other  respects  Spenser's 
story  is  a  summary  of  Geoffrey's.  The  moralizing  of  the 
last  three  lines  may  owe  something  to  Nennius,  but  more 
probably  was  developed  from  Geoffrey's  statement  that  God 
was  not  willing  that  the  Britons  should  reign  any  longer  in 
Britain. 


52,  //.   5   ff.     "  Ye  see  that  good  King  Uther  now  doth 

make 

Strong  warre  upon  the  Paynim  brethren,  hight 
Octa  and  Oza,  whome  hee  lately  brake 
Beside  Cayr  Verolame  in  victorious  fight, 
That  now  all  Britany  doth  burne  in  armes  bright." 

G.  of  M.,  VIII,  18,  pp.  114-115.  Octa,  the  son  of  Hen- 
gist,  and  Eosa  his  kinsman,  were  captured  by  King  Uther 
in  a  battle  on  Mount  Damen. 

21-23,  PP-  IJ8  ff.  Octa  and  Eosa  escaped.  They  gath- 
ered a  force  against  Uther  and  were  besieged  at  Verulamius, 
where  they  were  defeated  and  killed. 

24,  pp.  120-121.  The  Saxons  continued  their  attacks 
throughout  the  kingdom. 

Hoi.,  Hist,  p.  128.     Occa  or  Oca  and  Ossa  were  slain 


COMPARISON  165 

in  battle  by  Uter  "  at  Saint  Albanes  (as  some  write)." 
Holinshed  also  gives  an  account  based  on  Gildas,  according 
to  which  Occa  and  Osca  are  slain  at  Badon  Hill. 

The  account  of  Octa  and  Oza  follows  Geoffrey.  The 
name  Oza  shows  a  variation  not  accounted  for  by  the  later 
chroniclers. 


55.  "  And,  that  which  more  then  all  the  rest  may  sway, 
Late  dayes  ensample,  which  these  eyes  beheld: 

In  the  last  field  before  Menevia, 

Which  Uther  with  those  forrein  Pagans  held, 

I  saw  a  Saxon  Virgin,  the  which  feld 

Great  Ulfin  thrise  upon  the  bloody  playne ; 

And,  had  not  Carados  her  hand  withheld 

From  rash  revenge,  she  had  him  surely  slayne; 

Yet  Carados  himself e  from  her  escapt  with  payne." 

56.  "Ah!  read,"  (quoth  Britomart)  "how  is  she  hight?  " 
"  Fayre  Angela,"  (quoth  she)  "  men  do  her  call, 

No  whit  lesse  f ayre  then  terrible  in  fight : 
She  hath  the  leading  of  a  Martiall 
And  mightie  people,  dreaded  more  then  all 
The  other  Saxons,  which  doe,  for  her  sake 
And  love,  themselves  of  her  name  Angles  call. 
Therefore,  faire  Infant,  her  ensample  make 
Unto  thy  selfe,  and  equall  corage  to  thee  take." 

58,  //.  5  if.  ...     a  great  pray 

Of  Saxon  goods;  emongst  the  which  was  scene 

A  goodly  Armour,  and  full  rich  aray, 

Which  long'd  to  Angela,  the  Saxon  Queene, 

All  fretted  round  with  gold,  and  goodly  wel  beseene. 

G.  of  M.,  VIII,  1 6,  pp.  113-4.  Pascentius  and  Gillo- 
manius,  leaders  of  the  Saxons,  were  killed  by  Uther  in  bat- 
tle near  Menevia.  Aurelius  Ambrosius  had  recently  died. 


1 66          SPENSER'S  BRITISH  CHRONICLE  HISTORY 

HoL,  Descr.  of  Brit.,  p.  2a.  The  story  of  Angela  is  de- 
nied. Ecbert,  about  the  year  800,  named  the  country 
"  after  the  name  of  his  Countrie  from  whence  his  originall 
came,  neyther  Hengist,  neyther  any  Queene  named  Angla 


Bartholomew,  De  Proprietatibus  rerum,  Bk.  15,  ch.  14. 

"  And  longe  tyme  after  ye  Saxons  wanne  the  ylonde  with 
many  &  diuers  harde  batayles  &  stronge  &  theyr  ofsprynge 
had  possessyon  after  them  of  ye  ylonde  .  .  . 

"  And  therfore  they  clepyd  the  ylonde  Anglia  by  ye  name 
of  Engelia  ye  quene,  the  northyest  duke  of  Saxons  doughter 
yt  had  ye  ylonde  in  possessyon  after  many  batayles." 

Robert  Manning  of  Brunne,  II.  7533-6. 

"  Bot  )>is  lewed  m^n  sey  &  synge, 
&  telte  Ipat  hit  was  mayden  Inge. 
Wryten  of  Inge,  no  clerk  may  kenne, 
Bot  of  Hengiste  doughter  Ronewenne." 

After  giving  an  account  of  king  Engle,  Robert  Manning 
of  Brunne  continues  (//.  14,835-8)  : 

"  But  of  Ynge  saw  y  neu^re  nought, 
Neyfer  in  boke write  ne  wrought; 
But  lewed  men  Iper-of  speke  &  crye, 
&  meyntene  al-wey  vp  Ipat  lye." 

Higden,  Policronicon.,  Rolls  Series,  II,  p.  4. 

"  Deinde  a  Saxonibus  sive  Anglis  .  .  .  vocata  est 
Anglia;  sive  ab  Angela  regina,  clarissimi  ducis  Saxonum  filia, 
quae  post  multa  tempora  earn  possedit." 

Robert  of  Gloucester,  ed.  Hearne,  II,  Glossary,  pp.  731- 
733.  Hearne  printed  a  fragment  of  a  chronicle  found  writ- 
ten on  vellum  and  thought  to  be  by  John  Stow.  It  was  re- 
printed by  Warton,  Eng.  Poetry,  II,  pp.  100-102.  It  in- 
cludes the  following  lines : 


COMPARISON  167 

"  In  that  tyme  wetej>  welle, 
Cam  ferst  wassayle  &  drynke  hayl 
In  to  this  londe,  with  owte  wene, 
purghe  a  mayde  brygh  and  schene, 
Sche  was  cleput  mayde  ynge, 
For  hur  many  doth  rede  &  synge 
Lodyngys  gent  &  free. 

"  This  lond  hath  y  hadde  namys  thre. 

Ferst  hit  was  cleput  Albyon, 

And  syth  for  Brute  Bretayne  a  non. 

And  now  ynglond  clepyd  hit  ys, 

Aftir  mayde  ynge  y  wysse. 

Thilke  ynge,  fro  Saxone  was  come." 

The  identification  of  Ynge  with  Rowena  is  evident. 

Caxton,  Descr.  of  Eng.,  ch.  i. 

"  Thenne  Saxons  or  Englisshmen  conquered  this  lond  and 
called  it  Anglia  that  is  Englond  /  Or  it  is  called  Anglia  of 
a  quene  that  owid  this  lande  that  was  named  Angela  and 
was  a  noble  dukes  doughter  of  the  Saxons/ 

Liber  de  Hyda,  p.  4. 

"  Et  postmodum  in  ipsam  terram  Saxonibus  applicantibus 
ac  regnantibus,  sive  ab  Angela  regina,  clarissimi  ducis  Saxo- 
num  filia,  vocata  est  Anglia  .  .  ." 

A  Short  English  Chronicle,  ed.  by  J.  Gairdner  in  Three 
Fifteenth  Century  Chronicles,  pp.  10-11.  England  is  said 
to  have  been  named  by  Engest.  Then,  after  an  interval, 
with  no  apparent  feeling  of  contradiction,  England  is  said 
to  have  been  named  in  liter's  time  for  Ingerne,  his  wife,  the 
mother  of  Arthur. 

Graf  ton's  Chronicle,  p.  28. 

"But  after  this,  as  in  this  story  shall  apere,  this  Realme 
was  conquered  and  brought  in  subjection  to  Straungers  dyuers 
and  sundrie  tymes,  as  first  after  Brute  to  the  Romaynes,  then 
to  the  Saxons  which  conquered  this  land,  &  called  it  Anglia 
(as  saith  Polichronicon)  eyther  of  Angli,  that  is  to  say, 


1 68          SPENSER'S  BRITISH  CHRONICLE  HISTORY 

people  of  Saxony,  or  of  the  name  of  a  Queene  of  this  lande 
that  was  called  Angela." 

Camd.,  Br.}  p.  68. 

"  Facessat  Angulus  filius  Humbli,  &  Angela  regina,  quos 
nostrae  gentis  fuisse  conditiores,  blaterant  inepti." 

For  the  battle  of  Menevia,  in  which  Uther  fought  against 
the  Saxons,  Spenser  could  have  found  authority  in  Geof- 
frey. The  rest  of  the  passage  recounts  the  story  of  the 
Saxon  virgin  Angela,9  whose  people,  the  Angles,  were 
named  after  her.  The  story  itself,  with  its  interesting  ref- 
erence to  Carados,  I  have  failed  to  find.  But  the  maiden 
Angela  is  evidently  the  Saxon  Queen  Angela,  for  whom 
England  was  named.10  To  this  Angela  reference  is  fre- 
quently made.  Sometimes,  as  in  Holinshed,  the  story  about 
her  is  denied.  More  frequently  it  is  presented  as  an  alterna- 
tive with  some  other  account  of  the  naming  of  England. 
Bartholomew,  Caxton,  and  Grafton  give  the  most  vivid 
and  definite  versions  of  her  story,  and  any  one  of  them 
may  have  furnished  the  foundation  on  which  Spenser  built 
his  superstructure  of  imagination.  Yet  the  story  may  not 
have  been  wholly  due  to  Spenser's  imagination.  We  can- 
not be  sure  that  he  did  not  know  some  version  of  the  story 
of  Angela  more  detailed  than  any  which  is  now  known. 


C.     BOOK  III,  CANTO  9. 

Stanzas  41-43  of  this  canto  give  an  account  of  the  adven- 
tures of  ^Eneas.     They  include  details  not  to  be  found  in 

9  "  This  Saxon  virgin  is,  I  believe,  entirely  of  Spenser's  own  feign- 
ing."    Upton,   quoted  by   Professor   Child,   in   his   edition   of   Spenser, 
II,  p.  230. 

10  Geoffrey  told  at  length  the  story  of  the   Saxon  maiden  Rowena. 
This,    in    the    fragment    of    a    chronicle    printed    by    Hearne    (see    pp. 
166-7,   above),   was   transferred   to   "maid   ynge,"   eponymous   heroine 
of  England.     Robert  Manning  of  Brunne  knew  the  story  in  this  form, 
but  declared  that  it  was  false   (see  p.  166,  above).     It  seems  possible 
that   the   story   of  the   eponymous    Angela,   or,   as    Bartholomew    calls 
her,   Engelia,  may  be  connected   with   this   Rowena- Ynge   story. 


COMPARISON  169 

Geoffrey,  and  apparently  are  not  based  on  the  brief  lines 
in  the  Historia  I,  3,  though  perhaps  suggested  by  them. 


48.  "  For  that  same  Brute,  whom  much  he  n  did  advaunce 

In  all  his  speach,  was  Sylvius  his  sonne, 

Whom  having  slain  through  luckles  arrowes  glaunce, 

He  fled  for  feare  of  that  he  had  misdonne, 

Or  els  for  shame,  so  fowle  reproch  to  shonne, 

And  with  him  ledd  to  sea  an  youthly  trayne ; 

Where  wrearie  wandring  they  long  time  did  wonne, 

And  many  fortunes  prov'd  in  th'  Ocean  niayne, 

And  great  adventures  found,  that  now  were  long  to  sayne. 

G.  of  M.,  I,  3.  Brutus  was  the  son  of  Silvius.  When 
he  was  fifteen  years  old  ".  .  .  comitabatur  juvenis 
patrem  in  venando,  ipsumque  inopino  ictu  sagittae  inter- 
fecit  "  (p.  5,  /.  18  /.).  Banished  from  Italy,  Brutus  went 
to  Greece. 

Chapters  4—10.     Adventures  of  Brutus  in  Greece. 

Chapters  11-15.  Brutus,  with  324  ships,  sailed  from 
Greece.  After  many  adventures  he  landed  in  Albion. 

Hoi,  Hist.,  p.  9. 

"  This  Brute  (as  the  author  of  the  Book  (which  Geffrey 
of  Monmouth  translated)  doth  affirme,  was  the  sonne  of 
Siluius,  the  sonne  of  Ascanius  that  was  sonne  of  Aeneas  the 
Troian,  begotten  of  his  wyfe  Creusa,  and  borne  in  Troye, 
before  the  Citie  was  destroyed." 

p.  7  (reverse  of  p.  9,  misnumbered). 

"  Concerning  therfore  our  Brute,  whether  his  father  Julius 
was  sonne  to  Ascanius,  the  sonne  of  Aeneas  by  his  wyfe 
Creusa,  or  sonne  to  Posthumus,  called  also  Ascanius,  and 
sonne  to  Aeneas  by  his  wyfe  Lauinia,  wee  will  not  further 
stande.  But  this  we  fiynde,  that  when  he  came  to  the  age 
of  .XV.  yeares,  ...  he  fortuned  eyther  by  mishap,  or 
by  gods  prouidence,  to  strike  his  father  with  an  arrowe,  in 

11 1.  e.,  Mnemon.  \ 


170          SPENSER'S  BRITISH  CHRONICLE  HISTORY 

shooting  at  a  deere,  of  which  wounde  he  also  dyed.  His 
grandfather  .  .  .  hearing  of  this  greate  misaduenture 
that  had  chaunced  to  his  sonne  Siluius,  liued  not  long  after, 
but  deceased  of  very  grief e  and  sorrow  (as  is  to  be  supposed) 
which  he  conceyued  therof  .  .  ." 

Brutus  went  to  Greece  and  from  there,  after  various  ad- 
ventures, to  Albion. 

Spenser's  story  is  based  on  Geoffrey's,  but  condenses  sev- 
eral chapters  into  a  few  lines.  The  "  youthly  trayne  "  that 
accompanied  Brutus  from  Italy  seems  to  be  of  Spenser's 
invention.  It  probably  results  from  the  necessity  of  fur- 
nishing Brutus  with  a  company  of  men  to  settle  Albion. 
According  to  Geoffrey,  these  men  were  found  in  Greece. 
But  Spenser,  apparently  for  brevity,  has  omitted  the  expedi- 
tion to  Greece.12 


49.  "  At  last  by  fatall  course  they  driven  were 
Into  an  Island  spatious  and  brode, 

The  furthest  North  that  did  to  them  appeare : 

Which,  after  rest,  they,  seeking  farre  abrode, 

Found  it  the  fittest  soyle  for  their  abode, 

Fruitfull  of  all  thinges  fitt  for  living  foode, 

But  wholy  waste  and  void  of  peoples  trode, 

Save  an  huge  nation  of  the  Geaunts  broode 

That  fed  on  living  flesh,  and  dronck  mens  vitall  blood. 

50.  "  Whom  he,  through  wearie  wars  and  labours  long, 
Subdewd  with  losse  of  many  Britons  bold : 

In  which  the  great  Goemagot  of  strong 

Corineus,  and  Coulin  of  Debon  old, 

Were  overthrowne  and  laide  on  th'  earth  full  cold, 

Which  quaked  under  their  so  hideous  masse, 

A  famous  history  to  bee  enrold 

In  everlasting  moniments  of  brasse, 

That  all  the  antique  Worthies  merits  far  did  passe. 

12  Cf.  Inogene  of  Italy,  in  F.  Q.,  II,  10,  13.     See  p.  52  f,  above. 


COMPARISON 

G.  of  M.  See  p.  42  above,  for  reference  to  giants.  See 
p.  48  above  for  Geomagot 

Hoi.,  Hist.  For  giants,  see  p.  43,  above;  for  Goemagot, 
see  p.  48f.,  above. 

For  a  full  discussion  of  the  matters  treated  in  these  two 
stanzas,  see  pp.  42-46,  and  48—50,  above. 


51.  "  His  worke  great  Troynovant,  his  worke  is  eke 
Faire  Lincolne,  both  renowmed  far  away; 
That  who  from  East  to  West  will  endlong  seeke, 
Cannot  two  fairer  Cities  find  this  day, 
Except  Cleopolis :  so  heard  I  say 
Old  Mnemon.     .     .     ." 

The  founding  of  Troynovant  by  Brutus  is  mentioned  in 
Geoffrey's  Historia  (I,  17),  in  Holinshed  (p.  16),  and 
elsewhere.  I  have  not  discovered  any  authority  for  Spen- 
ser's statement  that  Brutus  founded  Lincoln  also. 


VI 

CONCLUSION 

In  the  previous  chapter  Spenser's  chronicle  history  ma- 
terial has  been  studied  with  relation  to  its  probable  sources, 
section  by  section.  The  results,  given,  as  they  are,  in  a 
series  of  detached  paragraphs,  at  first  seem  confusing  and 
even  contradictory,  but  a  rapid  review  will  show  that  taken 
together  they  establish  certain  facts. 

In  passage  after  passage  it  is  manifest  that  much  of 
Spenser's  chronicle  material  agrees  in  detail  as  well  as  in 
general  outline  with  Geoffrey's  Historia.  This  agreement 
is  especially  noticeable  in  the  passages  which  the  later  chron- 
iclers contradict,  modify,  or  doubt,  because  of  the  evidence 
of  Roman  and  Saxon  historians.  Furthermore,  in  some 
cases,  Spenser's  version  of  the  story  appears  not  to  be  found 
elsewhere  except  in  Geoffrey,  and  in  other  cases  Spenser 
reproduces  Geoffrey's  phrasing. 

As  examples  of  Spenser's  agreement  with  Geoffrey  in 
details  that  are  not  given  by  other  chroniclers  it  will  suf- 
fice to  refer  to  Spenser's  account  of  the  division  of  Britain 
among  the  sons  of  Brutus,  to  his  mention  of  the  broken 
treaty  of  Brennus  and  Belinus,  and  to  his  account  of  the 
devastation  of  Britain  by  Gormond.  But  to  show  Spenser's 
agreement  in  phrasing  several  passages  are  brought  together 
here,  that  their  significance  may  be  considered  more  closely. 
Geoffrey  says  of  Morvidus,  Hie  nimia  probitate  famosissi- 
mus  esset,  nisi  immoderatae  crudelitati  indulsisset,  and 
Spenser  keeps  the  very  turn  of  the  sentence  in  his  account 
of  Morindus, 

"  Who,  had  he  not  with  wrath  outrageous 
And  cruell  rancour  dim'd  his  valorous 
And  mightie  deedes,  should  matched  have  the  best." 

172 


CONCLUSION  173 

Geoffrey  says  that  Lud  renewed  the  walls  of  London  (re- 
novavit  muros),  and  Spenser  says  he  "  did  re-sedify  "  them, 
although  other  chroniclers  say  that  he  built  them  instead  of 
re-built  them.  Geoffrey,  describing  the  reputation  of  Arvir- 
agus,  writes,  diligebant  eum  Romani  et  timebant,  ita  ut 
prae  omnibus  regibus  sermo  de  eo  Romae  Heret, —  praise 
which  Spenser  translates  in  his 

"  Was  never  king  more  highly  magnifide, 
Nor   dredd  of   Romanes,  then   was   Arvirage." 

Again  Geoffrey  speaks  of  Helena  as  surpassing  other  girls 
in  beauty  and  in  knowledge  of  musical  instruments  and  the 
liberal  arts,  while  Spenser  calls  her  "  the  fairest  living 
wight,"  who 

"  was  most  famous  hight 
For  skil  in  Musicke  of  all  in  her  daies, 
As  well  in  curious  instruments  as  cunning  laies." 

In  Geoffrey,  Malgo  conquers  sex  comprovinciales  Oceani 
insulas,  and  in  Spenser, 

"  six  Islands  comprovinciall 
In  auncient  times   unto   great   Britainee," 

although  the  word  comprovincial  is  rare  in  English. 

An  argument  based  on  a  negation  is  always  dangerous, 
particularly  when  the  material  under  consideration  is  so 
often  repeated.  It  would  not  be  safe,  therefore,  to  say 
that  Spenser  could  have  found  the  words  or  the  details 
given  above  nowhere  except  in  the  Historia.  As  a  matter 
of  fact,  in  two  cases  it  is  certain  that  Geoffrey's  words  were 
repeated  by  other  writers.  In  both  the  Flores  Historiarum 
and  the  Sex  Libri  of  Ponticus  Virunnius  we  find  reference 
to  the  musical  instruments  in  which  Helena  excelled,  and 
in  the  Flores  Historiarum  we  find  also  the  sex  compro- 
vinciales occeani  insulas.  But  as  there  is  no  evidence  that 
Spenser  elsewhere  used  either  book,  we  have  no  reason  to 


174  SPENSER S    BRITISH    CHRONICLE    HISTORY 

assume  that  he  used  them  in  these  two  passages.  The  His- 
toria  is  the  more  probable  source.  Though  it  be  admitted 
that  no  single  instance  cited  above  is  in  itself  decisive,  never- 
theless the  multiplication  of  examples  convinces. 

We  have  already  seen  that  Spenser's  chronicle  repro- 
duces the  general  outline  of  Geoffrey's  narrative  to  an  ex- 
tent difficult  to  account  for  except  on  the  supposition  that 
Spenser  knew  the  Historia.1  We  have  noted  also  the  sig- 
nificant, though  not  complete,  correspondence  in  form  be- 
tween Spenser's  proper  nouns  and  Geoffrey's.  When  we 
now  bring  these  facts  into  conjunction  with  the  results  of 
the  detailed  study  in  Chapter  V,  remembering,  at  the  same 
time,  that  the  Historia,  the  recognized  authority  for  British 
chronicle  history,  was  accessible  both  in  print  and  in  manu- 
scripts, we  must  conclude  that  Geoffrey's  Historia  was  one 
of  Spenser's  immediate  sources. 

The  moment  we  grant  this,  however,  we  find  ourselves 
face  to  face  with  a  curious  fact.  Scarcely  a  dozen  times  in 
<  4-  all  does  Spenser  follow  Geoffrey's  narrative  without  vary- 
ing from  it,  or  in  some  way  showing  the  influence  of  the 
later  chroniclers;  and  those  few  instances  are  always  where 
he  gives  only  a  few  lines  to  a  single  reign,  or  summarizes 
a  long  story  in  a  single  stanza.2  For  the  most  part  even 
in  his  briefest  passages,  and  always  in  his  longer  and  more 
detailed  ones,  he  varies  continually,  adding  here  and  chang- 
ing there,  until  sometimes  all  resemblance  to  the  Historia 
seems  for  the  moment  to  disappear.3 

With  these  variations  our  chief  interest  now  lies.  We 
ask  concerning  them,  first,  from  what  source  they  came,  and 
secondly,  although  we  cannot  hope  to  answer  this  question 
except  conjecturally,  on  what  principles  they  were  chosen. 

For  some  of  these  variations  I  have  not  succeeded  in 
finding  any  source.  The  list  is  as  follows : 

1  See  pp.  31-36,  above. 

2  See  in  Bk.  II,  C  10,  st.  9,  11.  6-9;  st.  12,  11.  1-5;  st.  13;  st.  21, 
11.  3-5;  st.  25,  11.  4-5;  st.  34,  11.  3-6;  st.  57,  11.  5-6;  st.  60;  st.  67; 
and  in  Bk.  Ill,  C.  3,  st.  52,  11.  5-9. 

3  See  Bk.  Ill,  C.  3,  st.  35. 


CONCLUSION  175 

Book  II,  Canto  10, — 

St.  ii.  The  story  of  Debon  and  Coulin;  the  story  of 
Godmer  and  Canutus. 

12.  The  statement  that  Devonshire  was  given  to  Debon, 
and  that  Kent  was  given  to  Canutus  and  named  after  him. 

13.  The    assumption    that    Inogene    was    of    Italy,    not 
Greece. 

18-19.  The  statement  that  Locrinus  was  imprisoned  by 
his  wife,  and  that  Estrild  was  not  drowned  in  the  Severne 
with  Sabrina  but  was  killed  separately. 

21.  The  name  Manild;  the  number  of  Ebranck's  chil- 
dren, as  many  as  there  were  weeks  in  the  year. 

24.  The  reference  to  the  "  moore  twixt  Elversham  and 
Dell,"  and  the  Welsh  words  for  green  shield  and  red  shield. 

25.  The  statement  that  Cairleon  was  built  by  Leill. 
32.  The  manner  of  Cordelia's  death. 

34.  The  imprisonment  of  Gorbogud  by  his  sons,  Ferrex 
and  Porrex. 

41.  The  conquest  of  Easterland  by  Gurgiunt. 

43.  The  peaceful  rest  of  the  body  of  Morindus, 

46.  The  number  of  Hely's  sons,  two,  not  three. 

49.  The  statement  that  Caesar's  sword  is  "  yet  to  be  scene 
this  day." 

50-51.  The  transference  of  the  adventures  of  Guiderius 
to  his  predecessor  Kimbeline. 

54-56.  The  insertion  of  the  story  of  Bunduca  after  the 
reign  of  Lucius;  the  battle  of  the  Severne;  the  corruption 
of  Bunduca's  captains;  her  second  defeat. 

58.  The  statement  that  Coel  was  the  first  since  Lucius  to 
be  crowned  king. 

63.  The  building  of  the  wall  by  Constantine. 

64.  The  statement  that  all  three  sons  of  Constantine  were 
under  age. 

Book  III,  Canto  3, — 

St.  30.  Conan's  three  fights  with  the  Mertians. 

31.  The  disastrous  end  of  Vortipore's  reign;  the  state- 


176          SPENSER'S  BRITISH  CHRONICLE  HISTORY 

ment  that  Malgo  was  Vortipore's  son  and  fought  to  avenge 
his  father. 

33.  The  statement  that  Careticus  was  the  son  of  Malgo, 
and  was  at  first  victorious  over  the  Saxons. 

36-37.  The  hanging  of  Pellite ;  the  name  of  the  battle  of 
Laybourne  Plain;  the  list  of  those  who  were  killed  there; 
the  description  of  the  battle  of  Hevenfield. 

Book  III,  Canto  3, — 

St.  51.  The  founding  of  Lincoln  by  Brutus. 

Several  of  these  variations  from  Geoffrey's  Historia 
seem  to  be  sufficiently  accounted  for  without  supposing 
that  Spenser  followed  some  source  as  yet  unknown.  The 
name  Manild,  for  instance,  may  be  due  to  the  exigencies 
of  rhyme.  The  number  of  Ebranck's  children  is  given  in 
a  poetical  circumlocution  which  approximates  the  number 
usually  given,  50,  and  the  number  Caxton  gives,  53,  as 
closely,  perhaps,  as  can  be  expected.  The  manner  of  Cor- 
delia's death  might  easily  have  been  suggested  by  the  Mir- 
ror for  Magistrates.  The  statement  about  Caesar's  sword 
was  a  natural  addition  to  give  a  touch  of  reality.  The  in- 
sertion of  the  story  of  Bunduca  after  the  reign  of  Lucius 
seems  explained  by  the  greater  smoothness  thus  secured  in 
the  narrative  as  a  whole.  The  building  of  the  turf  wall 
by  Constantine  is  a  statement  that  might  result  from  the 
confusion  in  Holinshed.  The  assertion  that  all  three  sons 
of  the  second  Constantine  were  under  age  is  manifestly  a 
device  to  cover  an  omission  in  the  story,  made  partly  for 
the  sake  of  brevity,  and  partly  to  avoid  disagreeable  and 
disputed  material.  The  changes  in  the  beginning  of  the 
part  of  the  chronicle  which  is  told  as  a  prophecy  —  includ- 
ing not  only  the  variations  in  stanzas  30  and  31,  but  also 
the  relationship  between  consecutive  kings  —  are  clearly 
due  to  the  conditions  imposed  by  the  story  of  Britomart 
in  the  Faerie  Queene.  If  these  variations  from  the  His- 
toria material  should  be  excluded  from  the  list,  few  would 
remain  for  which  we  might  expect  to  find  a  source.4  Con- 

4  This  course  of  reasoning,  however,  is  not  always  to  be  relied  on. 


CONCLUSION  177 

spicuous  among  these,  however,  would  be  the  stories  of 
Godmer  and  Debon,  Coulin  and  Canutus,  and  the  Welsh 
words  in  the  account  of  Brutus  Greenshield. 

Far  the  larger  number  of  Spenser's  variations  from  the  =. 
Historia  can  be  traced  directly  to  a  source  in  one  or  more 
of  the  writers  later  than  Geoffrey.  We  find  indications 
that  Spenser  occasionally  drew  from  Caxton,  Grafton, 
Camden,  Llwyd,  the  Tragedy  of  Gorboduc,  and  possibly 
also  from  Nennius  and  Warner,  and  we  are  sure  that  he 
frequently  was  influenced  by  Hardyng,  Stow,  the  Mirror 
for  Magistrates,  and  Holinshed.5  Two  of  this  last  group, 
Hardyng  and  the  Mirror  for  Magistrates,  were  naturally 
important  because  of  their  poetical  form  and  their  moral- 
izing, for  although  Spenser  never  directly  copied  any  of  the 
moral  reflections  in  either  book,  the  general  tone  undoubt- 
edly influenced  him.  To  Holinshed  and  Stow,  on  the  con- 
trary, he  must  have  turned,  not  from  literary,  but  from 
historical,  interest.  In  Spenser's  time  they  were  the  most 
recent  authorities. 

So  far  as  phrasing  is  concerned,  Spenser  borrowed  little  - 
from  his  predecessors.  We  catch  only  light  echoes. 
Llwyd,  the  Tragedy  of  Gorboduc,  Warner,  Grafton,  and 
the  Mirror  for  Magistrates,  each,  apparently,  furnished  a 
single  word  or  phrase.  Camden  seems  to  have  suggested 
the  wording  in  two  passages,  Stow  in  four,  and  Holinshed 
and  Hardyng  in  eleven  each.  As  to  these  passages,  how- 
ever, there  is  room  for  a  difference  of  opinion,  for  the  re- 
semblances are  seldom  sufficiently  striking  to  be  insisted 
upon.  It  is  in  the  material  itself,  rather  than  in  the  phras- 
ing, that  we  see  the  influence  of  Spenser's  sources. 

When  we  turn  to  a  consideration  of  Spenser's  way  of 
using  the  material  that  he  drew  from  the  later  chroniclers, 
we  find,  first,  that  the  additions  to  Geoffrey's  story,  or  the 

Several  times  I  have  found  a  source  for  some  statement  that  at  first 
seemed  easily  explicable  as  an  independent  variation. 

'5  Spenser's  use  of  the  name  Maximinian  indicates  that  he  probably 
followed  the  first  edition  of  Holinshed.  There  is  no  evidence  that 
he  used  the  British  chronicle  history  in  the  second  edition. 


178          SPENSER'S  BRITISH  *  CHRONICLE  HISTORY 

changes  in  it,  which  found  favor  in  his  eyes,  are  usually 
those  repeated  by  a  number  of  chronicles.  For  example, 
Spenser  agreed  with  the  majority  in  writing  that  Madan 
was  an  evil  king,  that  Bladud  visited  Greece,  that  Brennus 
and  Belinus  conquered  Greece,  that  Coel  gave  his  daugh- 
ter Helena  in  marriage  to  Constantius,  that  a  wall  of  turf 
was  made  from  Alcluid  to  Panwelt,  that  Vortiger  sent  to 
Germany  for  aid.  Likewise  he  had  the  authority  of  more 
than  one  writer  for  such  incidents  as  the  founding  of  Col- 
chester by  Coel,  the  finding  of  the  naked  body  of  Alectus, 
and  the  massacre  of  the  monks  at  Bangor. 

We  find,  secondly,  that  the  direct  contrary  is  sometimes 
true.  Now  and  then  the  variations  in  Spenser's  story  seem 
to  result  from  the  influence  of  a  single  author.  We  must 
turn  to  Stow  for  a  full  account  of  Ebranck  and  Brutus 
Greenshield,6  to  Hardyng  for  a  hint  that  Ymner  was  of  ill 
repute,  to  Holinshed  for  any  suggestion  of  Joseph  of 
Arimathea  in  an  account  of  the  reign  of  Lucius,  to  the  Mir- 
ror for  Magistrates  for  the  description  of  the  battle  in 
which  Fulgent  was  killed,  to  Llwyd  for  the  two  repulses 
of  Brockwell.  In  one  case,  at  least, —  the  account  of  Vor- 
timer  —  an  important  change  which  contradicts  practically 
every  other  authority,  is  probably  the  result  of  a  story  re- 
peated by  Holinshed,  on  the  authority  of  William  of 
Malmesbury,  merely  as  one  among  several  accounts  of  the 
events  of  Vortimer's  reign. 

We  find,  in  the  third  place,  that  in  composing  a  single 
passage  Spenser  often  drew  from  several  authorities.  He 
used  Geoffrey,  Holinshed,  and  Hardyng  in  his  account  of 
the  sons  of  Brutus.  He  used  Geoffrey,  either  Grafton  or 
Stow,  Holinshed,  and  possibly  Hardyng  in  his  account  of 
the  successors  of  Morindus.  He  used  Geoffrey,  Holins- 
hed, Stow,  and  apparently  Nennius,  in  his  account  of  the 
second  Constantine.  He  used  Graf  ton's  Abridgment,  the 
Description  of  Cambria,  the  Breviary  of  Britayne,  and 

6  Unless  Stow's  sources  were  accessible  to  Spenser. 


CONCLUSION  179 

Hardyng's  Chronicle  or  Stow's  Annales,  as  well  as  possibly 
the  Brut  Tysilio,  in  his  account  of  Cadwan. 

The  reasons  which  led  Spenser  to  add  or  to  change  de- 
tails in  this  way  are  not  always  obvious.  He  seems  some- 
times to  seek  the  account  most  favorable  to  the  Britons. 
Yet  he  made  Madan  an  evil  ruler  in  the  face  of  Geoffrey's 
testimony  to  the  contrary,  dwelt  on  the  humiliation  of  the 
country  during  the  Roman  invasions  and  the  attack  of 
Gormond,  and  most  unnecessarily  described  Vortipore's 
reign  as  disastrous.  He  was,  perhaps,  aiming  at  historical 
accuracy  when  he  followed  the  majority  of  the  later  writers 
in  preference  to  Geoffrey,  or  when  he  turned  to  an  au- 
thority older  than  Geoffrey,  as  in  his  account  of  Vortimer, 
or  when  he  made  use  of  local  tradition,  as  in  locating  the 
fight  with  Goemagot  at  Plymouth.  Yet  no  desire  for  his- 
torical accuracy  led  him  to  depart  from  the  general  out- 
line of  Geoffrey's  narrative  in  order  to  follow  Roman  or 
Saxon  authorities  from  the  time  of  Caesar  on.  He  oc- 
casionally rejected  fabulous  or  marvellous  incidents,  as 
when  he  practically  denied  that  Morindus  was  eaten  by  a 
sea-monster.  Yet  he  kept  the  stories  of  Goemagot  and 
Hercules,  added  those  of  Godmer  and  Coulin,  and  followed 
Geoffrey  in  ascribing  the  hot  springs  of  Bath  to  the  magic 
of  Bladud.  In  short,  Spenser  was  guided  in  his  choice  of 
material  by  no  set  principle.  From  many  sources  he  chose 
what  pleased  his  taste  or  his  convenience.  With  our  scanty 
knowledge  of  Spenser  himself,  and  with  the  changed  stand- 
ards of  our  time,  we  cannot  hope  to  understand  his  mo- 
tives. Although  the  reader  of  the  present  day  may  not 
be  more  interested  in  an  evil  Madan  or  Ymner,  or  in  a 
peaceful  Marius,  than  in  the  Madan,  Ymner,  and  Marius 
of  Geoffrey,  it  is  entirely  possible  that  Spenser  was.  Down 
to  the  accession  of  Uther,  at  least,  we  are  sure  that  in 
Spenser's  opinion  the  chronicle  had  the  element  of  inter- 
est, for  he  clearly  indicated  it  in  his  description  of  the  ef- 
fect of  the  chronicle  on  Prince  Arthur.  "  Wonder  of  an- 
tiquity long  stopped  his  speech,"  we  are  told,  and  he  was 


180          SPENSER'S  BRITISH  CHRONICLE  HISTORY 

"  quite  ravisht  with  delight  to  heare 
The  royall  Ofspring  of  his  native  land." 

In  addition  to  this  element  of  interest,  which  in  the  end 
'  remains  the  chief  explanation  of  Spenser's  choice  of  ma- 
terial, we  note  two  characteristics  that  are  evident  through- 
£.  out  tffe  chronicle.  The  first  is  that  no  statement  is  made 
doubtfully.  We  are  not  told,  "  They  say,"  or  "  So  the 
story  runs,"  and  then,  "  But  for  the  truth  of  this  I  will 
not  vouch."  We  seem  always  to  be  dealing  with  unques- 
tionable fact.7  The  second  characteristic  is  that  the  story 
is  told  strictly  from  the  British  point  of  view.  Incidents 
in  Geoffrey  which  might  tend  to  distract  the  attention  — 
such,  for  instance,  as  the  stories  of  Rowena,  the  founding 
of  Armorica,  the  death  of  the  eleven  thousand  virgins  — 
are  rigorously  excluded.  Great  skill  is  shown  in  keeping 
the  interest  always  with  the  successive  British  rulers,  first, 
through  the  whole  period  of  the  Roman  warfare,  which 
never,  in  Spenser,  is  felt  as  a  time  of  Roman  supremacy, 
and  secondly,  during  the  period  of  Saxon  warfare.  .  Al- 
though three  times  an  interregnum  is  admitted,  once  be- 
fore the  reign  of  Dunwallo,  once  before  that  of  Bunduca, 
and  once  before  that  of  the  second  Constantine,  in  each 
case  the  attention  is  fixed  immediately  on  the  succeeding 
British  ruler,  so  that  no  break  in  the  continuity  is  felt. 
A  similar  effect  is  secured  in  the  later  part  of  the  chronicle 
by  making  son  succeed  father,  from  Conan  to  Careticus, 
by  making  Cadwan  apparently  the  direct  successor  to  Care- 
ticus, and  by  suppressing  all  mention  of  rival  British  or 
Saxon  kings, —  an  omission  particularly  marked  in  the 
stories  of  Cadwan  and  Cadwallin. 

With  this  emphasis  on  the  British  point  of  view  and 
the  continuity  of  British  rule  we  may  connect  the  traces  of 
direct  Welsh  influence.  We  note  the  Welsh  words  in  the 
account  of  Brutus  Greeneshield,  the  familiarity  with  the 
country  suggested  by  Spenser's  reference  to  the  "  woody 

7  The  chief  exceptions  are  the  story  of  Dioclesian's  daughters,  II, 
10,  8,  and  the  reference  to  the  Grail,  II,  10,  53. 


CONCLUSION  l8l 

hills  "  of  Glamorgan  —  even  so  slight  a  touch  of  descrip- 
tion is  rare  in  the  chronicles, —  the  transference  of  Bun- 
duca's  great  battle  to  the  vicinity  of  the  Severn,  the  state- 
ment that  Cador  was  son  of  Gorlois  —  found  only  in 
the  Brut  Tysilio  and  in  Hardyng,  and  apparently  a  Welsh 
tradition, —  and  finally  the  account  of  Brockwell  and  the 
massacre  at  Bangor.  Slightly  different  from  these,  but 
equally  important,  is  Spenser's  reference  to  the  three  later 
Welsh  princes,8  the  ultimate,  if  not  the  direct,  source  of 
which  is  the  Brut  of  Caradoc  of  Llancarvan. 

Both  the  British  point  of  view  and  the  interest  in  Welsh 
tradition  may  be  partly  accounted  for  by  the  Welsh  blood 
of  the  Tudors.  The  chronicle,  as  has  been  said,  was  intro- 
duced in  praise  of  Elizabeth,  and  the  invocations  made  clear 
her  connection  with  the  British  kings.  According  to 
Spenser,  she  was  the  descendant  both  of  Prince  Arthur  and 
of  Britomart.  The  "  royall  mace "  she  bore  had  been 
handed  down  to  her 

"  From  mighty  kings  and  conquerors  in  warre," 

her  "  father^  and  great  Grandfathers  of  old."  After  the 
death  of  Cadwallader,  the  British  rule  was  at  an  end. 
"  But  the  terme,"  continued  Merlin, 

"is  limited 
That  in  this  thraldome  Britons  shall  abide." 

In  twice  four  hundred  years,  he  promises,  they  shall  re- 
turn to  power.  The  interval  shall  be  brightened  by  the 
courage  of  such  men  as  Rhodoricke  the  Great,  Howell  Dha, 
and  Griffith  Conan. 

"  Tho,  when  the  terme  is  full  accomplishid, 
There  shall  a  sparke  of  fire,  which  hath  long-while 
Been  in  his  ashes  raked  up  and  hid, 
Bee  freshly  kindled  in  the  fruitfull  He 
Of  Mona,  where  it  lurked  in  exile; 

8  The  Faerie  Queene,  III,  3,  48. 


1 82          SPENSER'S  BRITISH  CHRONICLE  HISTORY 

Which  shall  breake  forth  into  bright  burning  flame, 

And  reach  into  the  house  that  beares  the  stile 

Of  roiall  majesty  and  soveraine  name : 

So  shall  the  Briton  blood  their  crowne  agayn  reclame."  9 

In  short,  with  the  accession  of  Henry  VII.,  grandson  of 
Owen  Tudor,  a  "Welsh  gentleman,"  the  British  blood 
again  came  to  its  own. 

As  we  note  these  evidences  of  artistic  intention  in 
Spenser's  chronicle,  the  possibility  of  the  existence  of  a  sin- 
gle version  of  the  British  chronicle  from  which  Spenser 
may  have  drawn  all  his  material  becomes  more  unlikely. 
By  presupposing  such  a  chronicle  history  we  should  only 
shift  the  problem  of  composition  back  to  some  unknown 
writer,  whose  motives  in  making  such  a  combination  of 
details  from  numerous  sources  would  be  less  comprehen- 
sible than  Spenser's.  Versions  of  the  British  chronicle 
which  we  do  not  know  may  have  been  in  Spenser's  hands; 
but  there  is  no  reason  to  suppose  that  any  one  of  them  was 
the  prototype  of  Spenser's  chronicle. 

The  conclusions  that  we  have  reached  as  to  Spenser's 
treatment  of  the  British  chronicle  material  agree,  on  the 
whole,  with  what  we  had  reason  to  expect  from  our  study, 
first,  of  his  use  of  the  river  material  in  the  Faerie  Queene, 
and,  second,  of  his  attitude  toward  historical  records  as 
manifested  in  his  View  of  the  Present  State  of  Ireland. 
In  the  account  of  the  rivers  we  found  that  although  Spen- 
ser depended  largely  on  Holinshed,  he  continually  modified 
Holinshed's  descriptions  by  introducing  material  from 
other  sources,  and  that  he  added,  changed,  or  reproduced 
accurately,  according  to  the  preference  of  the  moment,  with 
no  uniformity  of  method.  From  the  study  of  the  View  of 
the  Present  State  of  Ireland  we  learned  that  he  found  sig- 
nificance in  details  that  seem  trifling  to  us,  and  that  it 
was  his  custom  to  collect  material  from  every  source  in 
order  to  "  gather  a  likelihood  of  trueth  "  and  a  "  probabil- 
itye  of  thinges."  In  both  works  he  showed  a  habit  of  mind 

9  The  Faerie  Queene,  III,  3,  48. 


CONCLUSION  183 

and  a  method  of  work  that  would  naturally  result  in  just 
such  a  free  combination  of  material  as  we  seem  to  have  in 
his  British  chronicle  history. 

It  is  interesting,  finally,  to  compare  these  conclusions 
with  those  reached  by  others  who  have  studied  Spenser's 
use  of  his  sources.  Mr.  R.  S.  Neil  Dodge,  in  Spenser's 
Imitations  from  Ariosto™  comments  thus  on  the  tenth 
Canto  of  Book  II :  — 

"  Here,  as  in  several  other  imitations,  Spenser  directly 
translates  the  first  few  lines,  and  then  drifts  into  an  entirely 
original  rendering  of  the  theme  suggested." 

Practically  the  same  is  the  conclusion  of  Mr.  John  R. 
Macarthur,  in  The  Influence  of  Huon  of  Burdeux  upon  the 
Faerie  Queene.11 

11  He   [Spenser]   appears  to  have  borne  in  mind  the  details 
of  some  episode  in.  a  romance  to  which  he  was  able  to  attach 
an  allegorical  meaning,  but  he  made  use  of  those  details  in 
an  absolutely  independent  manner,  re-arranging,  omitting,  and    y 
adding  to  suit  his  purpose." 

Mr.  E.  A.  Greenlaw  says  that  Spenser  "  is  too  great  and 
too  original  to  follow  slavishly  his  sources  after  the  man- 
ner of  the  mediaeval  romancers,"  12  and  Miss  Sawtelle,  after 
noting  Spenser's  "  complete  mastery "  of  classical  myth, 
writes  in  like  fashion:  — 

"  This  sense  of  mastery  leads  him  occasionally  to  rise  su- 
perior to  the  strict  letter  of  the  original  and,  while  always 
preserving  its  spirit,  he  at  times  deliberately  perverts  a  myth 
in  order  that  it  may  better  accord  with  his  immediate  purpose ; 
or,  again,  he  seizes  upon  some  hint  from  the  classics,  and 
constructs  a  myth  of  his  own  .  .  .  Even  when  Spenser 
paraphrases  long  extracts  from  the  classics,  he  embellishes 
them  with  beauties  from  his  own  imagination  .  .  ." 

™Publ.  Mod.  Lang.  Ass'n,  XII,  p.  200. 

11  Journal  of  Ger.  Phil.  IV,  pp.  215-238. 

12  Edwin  A.  Greenlaw,  The  Sources  of  Spenser's  "Mother  Hubberd's 
Tale"  in  Mod.  Phil,  III,  p.  432. 


184  •       SPENSER'S  BRITISH  CHRONICLE  HISTORY 

She  adds  that  occasionally  he  made  mistakes  in  minor  de- 
tails.13 

In  one  respect  the  results  of  the  present  investigation 
agree  with  the  statements  that  have  just  been  quoted. 
Spenser  shows  freedom  in  his  use  of  his  sources.  He  re- 
arranges, omits,  and  adds  details  in  his  chronicle  history, 
even  as  he  did  in  the  material  which  he  drew  from  Huon 
of  Burdeux.  In  the  section  of  the  chronicle  which  deals 
with  the  kings  immediately  following  Arthur,  he  even  per- 
verts the  story,  as,  according  to  Miss  Sawtelle,  he  some- 
times "  deliberately  perverts  "  a  classical  myth,  "  in  order 
that  it  may  accord  with  his  immediate  purpose." 

On  the  whole,  however,  this  investigation  has  brought 
out  a  different  aspect  of  Spenser's  use  of  his  sources. 
Spenser's  freedom  has  been  seen  manifesting  itself,  not  in 
the  invention,  but  in  the  selection  and  combination  of  de- 
tails. He  does  not  treat  with  imaginative  freedom  a  hint 
from  some  previous  writer.  He  seldom,  if  ever,  gives  an 
"  entirely  original  rendering  of  the  theme  suggested."  14 
On  the  contrary,  he  keeps  curiously  close  to  his  authorities. 
First  from  one  author,  and  then  from  another,  he  extracts 
some  minute  detail,  a  peculiar  form  of  a  name,  an  unim- 
portant variation  from  the  usual  form  of  the  story.  While 
apparently  following  Geoffrey  of  Monmouth  in  the  main, 
he  also  draws  from  Hardyng,  Holinshed,  and  Stow,  and 
from  the  Mirror  for  Magistrates,  and  to  the  material  gath- 
ered from  these  sources  he  adds  now  and  again  statements 
that  he  bases  on  still  other  authorities.  In  short,  we  see 
Spenser,  not  solely  as  a  poet,  but  also  as  a  historian  and 
'Chronicler  and  as  an  antiquarian. 

In  the  Faerie  Queene  Spenser  has  described  "  that  old 
man  Eumnestes  "  who  "  things  past  could  keep  in  mem- 
oree."  He  was  sitting  in  his  chamber,  which  was  all 

13  The  Sources  of  Spenser's  Classical  Mythology,  by  Alice  Elizabeth 
Sawtelle,  Boston,   1896,  p.  8. 

14  A  possible  exception  to  this  statement  is  Spenser's  treatment  of 
the  history  of  the  first  few  kings  after  Arthur.     It  is  doubtful  if  even 
this  could  be  called  "  entirely  original." 


CONCLUSION  185 

"  hanged  about  with  rolls 
And  old  records  from  auncient  times  derivd, 
Some  made  in  books,  some  in  long  parchment  scrolls, 
That  were  all  worm-eaten  and  full  of  canker  holes. 

"  Amidst  them  all  he  in  a  chaire  was  sett, 
Tossing  and  turning  them  withouten  end."  15 

Even  so  it  would  seem  Spenser  himself  must  have  worked. 
«  F.  Q.,  II,  9,  57-58. 


APPENDIX 

It  seems  probable  that  Spenser's  chronicle  of  the  British 
kings  was  first  planned  as  a  separate  poem,  and,  further- 
more, that  material  was  collected  for  it  and  that  it  was 
partly  written  before  Spenser  decided  to  include  it  in  the 
Faerie  Queene. 

Such  a  subject  would  have  appealed  to  a  young  poet  in 
Spenser's  time.  The  material  was  popular.  To  cast  it 
anew  in  poetical  form  would  have  been  a  natural  ambition, 
especially  as  a  successful  chronicle  in  verse  would  have  been 
sure  to  win  praise  for  its  author. 

Similar  material,  although  geographical,  not  historical, 
is  known  to  have  interested  Spenser  when  he  planned  the 
Epithalamion  Thamesis.  The  idea  of  a  chronicle  in  verse 
may  have  been  connected  with  the  plan  for  a  poem  on  Brit- 
ish rivers.  One  may  have  sprung  from  the  other,  as  a  re- 
sult of  the  almost  universal  habit  of  prefacing  a  chronicle 
history  with  a  "  Description  of  England." 

A  moment's  inspection  shows  that  in  Spenser's  chronicle 
as  it  now  stands  there  is  a  considerable  difference  between 
the  first  part,  which  extends  to  the  reign  of  Uther  Pen- 
dragon,  and  the  second  part,  which  begins  with  the  suc- 
cessor to  Arthur.  The  first  part  is,  on  the  whole,  a  closely 
knit  narrative  that  aims  at  an  adequate  reproduction  of  the 
chronicle  history  material.  The  poet  holds  throughout  a 
judicious,  historical  attitude.  He  has  selected  his  facts  — 
if  we  may  call  them  so  —  with  skill.  Even  we  in  these  days 
can  find  authority  for  most  of  them,  and  Spenser  himself, 
we  suspect,  could  have  cited  chapter  and  book  for  nearly, 
if  not  quite,  all  of  them.  At  the  same  time  Spenser  ex- 
erted himself  to  give  a  suitable  poetical  form  to  the  earlier 
portions.  For  instance,  Locrinus,  the  second  Brute,  Leir, 

187 


1 88          SPENSER'S  BRITISH  CHRONICLE  HISTORY 

and  Donwallo  are  described  in  stanzas  that  for  artistic 
qualities  cannot  be  matched  in  the  second  portion  of  the 
chronicle.  This  second  portion,  it  must  be  admitted,  bears 
marks  of  hasty  work.  The  history  is  falsified  to  accord 
with  the  necessities  of  the  poet,  whose  interest  centered  in 
the  romantic  figure  of  Britomart.  The  more  carefully 
Spenser's  sources  are  studied,  the  more  the  investigator 
will  be  convinced  that  in  this  part  of  the  chronicle,  Spen- 
ser's variations  from  the  usual  narrative  are  due  (i)  to 
a  desire  to  adapt  his  material  to  the  preceding  portion  of 
the  Faerie  Queene,  (2)  to  the  need  for  condensation,  and 
(3)  to  a  comparative  indifference  to  the  narrative  as  his- 
tory, although  at  times,  as  in  the  account  of  Brockwell, 
evidences  of  research  still  appear, —  the  result,  perhaps,  of 
notes  taken  at  an  earlier  period. 

If  we  assume  that  Spenser  planned  a  separate  poem  on 
British  chronicle  history  it  will  be  easy  to  account  for  the 
peculiarities  of  his  chronicle  as  it  has  come  down  to  us. 
For  a  separate  poem  he  would  naturally,  have  consulted  all 
or  most  of  the  authorities  which  were  available,  whereas 
for  an  episode  in  a  long  poem  he  would  more  naturally  have 
followed  a  single  authority,  or  at  most  a  few  of  the  best 
known  chronicles.  For  a  separate  poem  he  would,  per- 
haps, have  taken  notes  to  cover  the  whole  period.  He 
would  then  have  begun  to  compose  his  poem.  The  first 
part  would  have  been  carefully  written  and  revised,  an- 
other section  would  have  been  blocked  out,  and  then,  if  the 
poet  wearied  of  his  work,  the  third  part  would  have  been 
left  untouched.  Notes  and  unfinished  poem  would  have 
been  put  away  together, —  only  to  be  brought  out  at  a  later 
date  to  be  fitted  into  the  Faerie  Queene.  Then  we  should 
get  the  elaborate,  finished  work  of  the  first  half  of  Book  II, 
Canto  10,  the  slightly  more  careless  composition  of  the  lat- 
ter part,  and  the  uneven  work  of  Book  III,  Canto  3,  where 
direct  quotation  from  Geoffrey  and  work  that  is  based  on 
non-Galfridian  authority  appear  side  by  side  with  deliberate 
distortion  of  British  history.  Finally,  the  few  stanzas  on 


APPENDIX  iSQ 

the  early  life  of  Brutus  (III,  9)  seem  like  a  fragment  at 
first  rejected,  but  thriftily  saved  and  worked  in  later. 

In  Spenser's  use  of  the  name  Maximinian,  which  he  took 
from  the  first  edition  of  Holinshed,1  there  is  clear  proof 
that  the  chronicle  was  written  at  a  comparatively  early  date, 
before  he  had  begun  to  use  the  second  edition,  although  not 
necessarily  before  the  inception  of  the  Faerie  Queene.  As 
the  early  part  of  the  chronicle,  by  the  especial  elaboration 
of  the  material  that  deals  with  the  legends  of  rivers,2  sug- 
gests that  the  chronicle  was  composed  while  the  river  ma- 
terial was  fresh  in  Spenser's  mind,  the  inference  is  that  it 
is  to  be  grouped  with  the  early  Epithalamion  Thamesis, 
which  was  dependent  on  the  first  edition  of  Holinshed, 
rather  than  with  the  later  rendering  of  the  same  material, 
in  which  Spenser  used  the  second  edition.3  It  is  notice- 
able also  that  throughout  the  chronicle  Spenser  speaks  as  if 
he  were  in  England,4  and  that  when  the  story  touches 
Irish  affairs,  as  in  the  account  of  Gurgiunt  (II,  10,  41) 
and  in  that  of  Gormond  (III,  3,  33)  there  is  no  expansion, 
although  we  should  expect  it  from  a  poet  living  in  Ireland, 
as  Spenser  seems  to  have  been  when  he  wrote  Book  II, 
Canto  9  of  the  Faerie  Queene. 

More  than  once  Spenser  seems  to  have  incorporated  in 
his  later  work  early  poems  or  the  material  gathered  for 
them.  The  Epithalamion  Thamesis  is  an  undoubted  in- 
stance of  this.  Mr.  J.  W.  Hales  believes  that  the  early 
Legends  and  the  Court  of  Cupid  are  also  to  be  found  in  the 
Faerie  Queene.5  Mr.  Grosart  has  a  theory  that  both  the 
Dreames  and  the  Stemmata  Dudleiana  are  preserved  in  the 
Ruines  of  Time?  Mr.  Philo  M.  Buck  believes  that  ten 

1  See  pp.  123  ff.,  above. 

2  See  p.  58  and  p.  60  f.,  above. 

3  See  pp.  12-15,  above. 

4Cf.,  for  instance:  "They  held  this  land"  (IT,  10,  9);  "Brute 
this  Realme  unto  his  rule  subdewd "  (II,  10,  13);  "Caesar,  tempted 
with  name  Of  this  sweet  Island  never  conquered "  (II,  10,  47) ; 
"Nought  els  but  treason  from  the  first  this  land  did  foyle "  (II,  10, 
48). 

«  See  Spenser,  Globe  ed.,  p.  XXVII. 

6  Spenser,  ed.  Grosart,  I,  p.  94- 


190          SPENSER'S  BRITISH  CHRONICLE  HISTORY 

of  the  eighteen  "  lost  poems  "  that  he  enumerates  in  his 
paper  on  •"  Spenser's  Lost  Poems"  7  have  been  worked  into 
later  poems.  Presumably  Mr.  Bryskett  was  not  misrepre- 
senting Spenser  when  he  put  into  his  mouth  the  statement 
that  Bryskett's  translation  of  the  dialogue  by  Giraldi  might 
"  happily  fare  the  better  by  some  mending  it  may  receiue 
in  the  perusing,  as  all  writings  else  may  do  by  the  often  ex- 
amination of  the  same,"  8  —  a  statement  which  suggests 
that  Spenser  had  a  habit  of  preserving  his  early  work  and 
continually  revising  it.  Indeed,  we  have  Spenser's  own 
words  to  this  effect,  for  in  the  letter  prefixed  to  the  Foure 
Hymnes  he  speaks  of  those  poems  as  the  result  of  his  re- 
solve to  "  amend  "  and  "  re  forme  "  two  hymns  composed 
"  in  the  greener  times  "  of  his  youth.9 

The  theory  that  the  British  chronicle  history  was  first 
planned  as  a  separate  work  is  not,  it  must  be  admitted,  sus- 
ceptible of  proof.  No  reference  to  such  a  poem  is  known 
to  exist.  The  nature  of  the  subject,  however,  the  char- 
acteristics of  the  chronicle  as  it  appears  in  the  Faerie  Queene, 
and  Spenser's  habit  of  recasting  his  poems,  taken  all  three 
together,  create  a  strong  presumption  in  its  favor. 


l.  Mod.  Lang.  Ass'n,  XXXIII,  80-99. 
•*  Spenser,  Globe  ed.,  p.  XXXIV. 
9  Ibid.,  p.  492. 


VITA. 


I,  Carrie  Anna  Harper,  daughter  of  Henry  M.  Harper 
and  Caroline  Bennett,  his  wife,  was  born  in  Charlestown, 
Massachusetts.  My  education  was  begun  in  the  public  schools 
of  Boston,  and  I  was  prepared  for  college  at  the  Girl's  Latin 
School  of  that  city.  In  1892  I  entered  Radcliffe  College,  and 
in  1896  received  the  degree  of  A.B. 

In  1896-97  I  held  a  graduate  scholarship  in  English  at 
Bryn  Mawr  College  and  during  1898-99  was  Fellow  in  Eng- 
lish. In  1898  I  received  from  Radcliffe  College  the  degree 
of  A.M.  From  1899  to  1907  I  was  a  teacher  of  English  in  the 
Oilman  School  for  Girls  at  Cambridge,  Massachusetts.  Since 
1907  I  have. been  Instructor  in  English  Literature  at  Mount 
Holyoke  College. 

My  graduate  work  was  begun  at  Bryn  Mawr  College  in 
1896-97,  my  major  subject  being  English  Philology  and  my 
minor  subjects  English  Literature  and  Spanish.  At  the  end 
of  my  first  year  of  graduate  study  at  Bryn  Mawr  College  I 
continued  my  work  during  1897-98  at  Radcliffe  College.  Dur- 
ing 1898-99  I  was  again  a  student  at  Bryn  Mawr  College,  and 
in  1906-07  took  further  courses  at  Radcliffe  College.  At 
Bryn  Mawr  my  graduate  work  was  done  under  Professor 
J.  D.  Bruce  and  Mr.  Hodder,  of  the  English  Department,  and 
under  Professors  Page  and  De  Haan,  of  the  Spanish  Depart- 
ment. At  Radcliffe  my  graduate  work  was  directed  by  Pro- 
fessors G.  L.  Kittredge  and  F.  N.  Robinson,  of  the  English 
Department.  Under  Professor  Kittredge's  direction  I  prepared 
a  paper,  "Carados  and  the  Serpent,"  which  was  printed  in 
Modern  Language  Notes  in  1898  (Vol.  XTII,  cols.  4*7-30 . 
During  my  years  of  teaching  I  wrote,  in  collaboration  with 
Miss  Beulah  Marie  Dix,  a  novel,  The  Beau's  Comedy,  which 
was  published  in  1902. 


The  accompanying  dissertation  was  presented  to  the  Fac- 
ulty of  Bryn  Mawr  College  in -1908,  in  fulfilment  of  a  require- 
ment made  of  candidates  for  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Philoso- 
phy. Further  information  in  regard  to  the  circumstances  of  its 
composition,  as  well  as  acknowledgment  of  my  obligations  to 
those  who  have  assisted  in  its  preparation,  will  be  found  in  the 
Preface. 


THIS  BOOK  IS  DUF  ON  THE  I- "     ~ 


